


These Days Have Made A Change In Me

by twtd



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:29:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27610712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twtd/pseuds/twtd
Summary: Hecate has to spend a semester at Pentangle’s. She isn’t happy about it. Neither is Pippa.But the woman in pink, the one Hecate had been dreading meeting again, just glared. Hecate assumed the glare wasn’t about Morgana’s actions, and owed more to Hecate’s very presence at the school.“Hecate.” Pippa’s lips pulled back into something resembling a smile, though it could in no way be mistaken for sincere.“Pippa.” Hecate’s stomach roiled at seeing Pippa again. Neither of them raised their hands for the traditional “well mets.” The already tense atmosphere only grew more tense the longer they stared at each other, but neither was willing to look away.
Relationships: Hardbroom/Pentangle (Worst Witch)
Comments: 123
Kudos: 160





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic completely ignores the entire confinement storyline and takes place in a world where Mildred Hubble hasn’t shown up yet. I really wanted to finish writing this before I posted it, but my willpower is not that strong.
> 
> Thanks to Cliotheproclaimer, Heathtrash, CurlyWitch14, and Nike_SGA for their help getting my return to TWW fandom off the ground.

“I simply must have misheard you, Ada. Would you repeat yourself?” Hecate’s tone made it clear that it was not a request. The entire thing was preposterous. There was no way. She must have misheard. 

“You’re being seconded to Pentagle’s for the term.” Ada interlaced her fingers in front of herself and looked up at Hecate. “I know you aren’t thrilled at the possibility of having to leave Cackle’s for so long, but what the Great Wizard wants, the Great Wizard gets. If he thinks we should engage in some inter school cooperation, then so be it. Pentangle’s deputy head will come here for the semester and you shall go to Pentangle’s. I’m sure you’ll do as admirable a job there as you do here.” 

“You can’t possibly expect…” Ada raised a hand and cut Hecate off in the middle of her complaint. 

“I can and do. I know you aren’t one for modern magic of the sort Pippa Pentangle practices, but you shall have to adapt. Maybe you can learn things from each other. I believe that’s the Great Wizard’s aim, and how better to start the program than with one of the oldest academies in Great Britain exchanging deputy heads with the newest.”

Hecate flinched when Ada said the name, ‘Pippa Pentangle,’ but she hoped she wasn’t too obvious about it. She and Pippa hadn’t spoken to each other in decades, they _loathed_ each other, and now Hecate would have to… It didn’t bear thinking about. But other than taking it up with the Great Wizard himself, and revealing things she would rather keep to herself, there was no way she could see to avoid the responsibility. 

“Yes, Headmistress.” Hecate clenched her fists. Just because she was backing down didn’t mean she had to like it. 

“Excellent,” Ada said with good cheer. “Have your things packed and be ready to fly over there day after tomorrow.” 

“Yes, Headmistress.” Hecate turned on her heel and stalked down the corridor toward her chambers.

* * *

“Miss Hardbroom.” A voice called out from Hecate’s mirror and she looked up from her desk. She was collecting the last of the papers she needed to take with her to Pentangle’s, research she needed to formally write up, some journals she was in the middle of reading. She moved over to the mirror, wondering who might be disturbing her evening. When she saw Barbara Bloodsworth she became intrigued. 

“What may I do for you this evening, Councillor?” Barbara was an ally of Cackle’s on the Magic Council, though why she would be calling Hecate and not Ada remained to be seen. 

“I’ve heard that you’re to be spending the next term at Pentangle’s.”

“You’ve heard correctly. I leave in the morning.” Not that Hecate was looking forward to going. 

“Then I’ve caught you at just the right time.” Barbara drummed her fingers on the table she was seated at. Hecate found it an annoying habit, but she tried to put it from her mind. The Councillor surely needed to speak to her for some important reasons and she wouldn’t lecture the other woman on her manners. 

“How can I help you?” Hecate got directly to the point. She had things to be preparing and she didn’t want to be on the mirror all night. 

“I’d like you to be my eyes and ears at Pentangle’s. It’s notoriously hard to get any information out of that school and I, that is, the Magic Council, wants to know more about what goes on there. I’m very concerned about the effect teaching modern magic to impressionable minds has. It’s one thing for adults to study something so controversial. It’s quite another to be foisting it onto those too young to make that decision for themselves. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Hardbroom?” 

Hecate did agree, but something about the Councillor’s request made her uneasy. “If that’s the case, surely the Council could launch an investigation into the school.”

“And I’ve lobbied strenuously for one, but as long as their test scores remain so high, there is little political will for such a thing.” Barbara shook her head, her lips pursed in consternation. “You see now why having you there for the term is such a boon. All I’m looking for is the occasional report on anything untoward that might be happening.” 

Hecate looked at Barbara shrewdly. “You want me to be your spy.”

“Well, not in so many words. I simply want information about what’s happening there.”

Hecate didn’t like Barbara’s explanation. It felt off. “I’m sorry, Councillor, you’ll have to get your information from elsewhere.” 

Barbara shrugged. “Well, I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask. Thank you for hearing me out. I trust this conversation will stay between the two of us?” 

“As you wish.” Hecate was still suspicious as Barbara signed off and closed the connection. She might not like what Pippa taught or the way she taught it, but she wasn’t a spy. She shook her head, though no one was around to see it, and went back to her packing.

* * *

Hecate looked around her room one last time, but she was too organized to have forgotten anything. Morgana sat obediently at her feet, called in from her usual prowling about the castle, the tip of her tail flicking lazily back and forth. Hecate imagined she must already be bored of the day’s unusual behavior. 

Hacate grabbed her traveling case and her broom and nodded toward Morgana. Morgana got to her feet and stretched, making Hecate wait on her. Once she was finished, Hecate headed toward the courtyard. The girls weren’t back from their summer holidays yet, so the only person around to see Hecate off was Ada. 

“Have a good flight.” Ada looked like she wanted to straighten Hecate’s cloak around her shoulders, but of course, Hecate’s cloak was already perfectly straight. 

“I shall try.” Hecate got her broom into the ready position, floating a few feet off the ground. She sighed slightly in defeat, her shoulders dropping down. “I’ll give Miss Pentangle your regards.” It was incredibly unlikely she and Pippa would have a conversation long enough for Hecate to do so, but it would make Ada feel better for her having said it. Hecate wasn’t exactly sure how she would survive an entire term working for someone who despised her, but she would persevere, just as she always had. 

Ada reached out and squeezed Hecate’s hands before letting them go and taking a step backwards. “Mirror me and let me know you’ve gotten there in one piece.” 

Hecate nodded sharply and mounted her broom. A second later, Morgana hopped up onto her perch, and then they were off. Hecate rose up above the walls of Cackle’s and wheeled in the direction of Pentangle’s. It was going to be a very long flight.

* * *

Hecate looked down at Pentangle’s, taking in the grounds for the first time. A grand lawn sprawled out from what looked like a very large Georgian country house, replete with neoclassical columns and large windows. Comparatively, Cackle’s looked cold and dreary, though Hecate thought Cackle’s to be quite cozy, while Pentangle’s looked like it was covered in ornamental frippery. There were several ultra modern outhouses, with an excessive amount of glass and sod roofs, clearly something some architect had thought contrasted well with the more traditional building, and a well-sized greenhouse surrounded by what looked like enviable gardens. The gardens and greenhouse were, in fact, the only things Hecate was looking forward to exploring. The rest, well, she supposed she would have to tolerate it for the term. 

A flash of pink, flanked by someone in more sensible colors with a broom in her hand, stood at the entrance to the main building, so Hecate reluctantly pointed her broom toward the pair. As she disembarked, Morgana had no compunctions about jumping from the broom and dashing away into the underbrush. A woman Hecate didn’t recognize looked slightly taken aback, but the woman in pink, the one Hecate had been dreading meeting again, just glared. Hecate assumed the glare wasn’t about Morgana’s actions, and owed more to Hecate’s very presence at the school. 

“Hecate.” Pippa’s lips pulled back into something resembling a smile, though it could in no way be mistaken for sincere. 

“Pippa.” Hecate’s stomach roiled at seeing Pippa again. Neither of them raised their hands for the traditional “well mets.” The already tense atmosphere only grew more tense the longer they stared at each other, but neither was willing to look away. Finally, the woman beside Pippa made a polite coughing noise. They both turned on her, Pippa’s glare immediately softening. 

“Miss Jinx, might I present Miss Hardbroom.” Something clenched inside of Hecate at hearing Pippa’s voice for the first time in nearly three decades, a Pavlovian response that she still couldn’t shake. Hecate finally raised her hand. 

“Well met, Miss Jinx.” Her voice had an edge to it that Miss Jinx had in no way inspired or deserved, but Hecate was too on edge to modulate it. 

“Well met, though you can certainly call me Artemis. It seems both our parents were lovers of Greek mythology.” Artemis Jinx took Hecate’s ire in stride and didn’t let it phase her. 

“It’s a family name,” Hecate ground out. She could feel Pippa standing just to the side, could feel the way Pippa was looking at her, full of thinly veiled contempt. 

“Ah, well.” Now Miss Jinx looked as uncomfortable as everyone else in the group. 

“Artemis is my deputy head. She wanted to see that you arrived before she set off for Cackle’s.” Pippa sounded as if she was trying to be civil, but Hecate knew better. 

“And on that note, I’d better be off. It’s quite the flight and I don’t want to get there too late in the day.” Artemis’s good cheer already seemed to be restored. Artemis set up her broom and grabbed her own traveling case before taking off. Both Hecate and Pippa watched her as she rose in the air, getting smaller by the second, until she was nothing more than a speck. 

All of a sudden, they realized they were alone. Neither of them said anything and the silence built like a wall between them. Hecate could hear her own heartbeat as it skidded about in her chest. Finally, Pippa spoke. 

“Your quarters are this way.” She turned and headed toward the building assuming Hecate would follow her. 

Hecate wanted to be petulant and stay where she was. She wanted to let Pippa walk off alone, but she did need to know where she would be living for the next few months. That was the only thing that spurred her into movement. It certainly wasn’t because she wanted to spend any more time in Pippa’s company than absolutely necessary. 

They carried on in silence as Hecate subtly looked around the hallways, memorizing her way through them. She was determined not to get lost. It would be too humiliating to have to ask for directions. 

“The rest of the staff get here tomorrow. The students arrive Monday. Artemis and I would normally take the day to plan for the term.” That Hecate and Pippa wouldn’t be spending the day together doing any such thing remained unspoken. “I’ll have one of the staff members give you a proper tour over the weekend. For now, the kitchens and dining room are that way,” Pippa pointed down a hallway. “The cook isn’t back yet, so you’ll have to fend for yourself today.” 

Pippa mounted the first of the steps that would lead up to the rest of the house. “Staff offices are on the bottom floor. Staff quarters and the library are on the next, and the students rooms are on the one above that. Our student population is smaller than that of Cackle’s. We believe in fostering close relationships between the faculty and students.” 

It might have been an insult, but Hecate was determined not to rise to the bait. She huffed but said nothing about it. 

“And the classrooms? You do have those, don’t you?” Hecate asked, disdain dripping from her voice. 

She could see Pippa grit her teeth as they climbed the stairs. “The buildings in the back hold all of the classrooms. I don’t expect that you will need to know where most of the classes are taught, but I’ll make sure you know where the potions classroom is. You’ll be teaching advanced potions to the older students who have displayed an aptitude for the subject.” 

“And your regular potions teacher?” Hecate asked skeptically.

“Has agreed to cede the classes to you for the term.” Pippa bit back, as if it was quite the concession and Hecate should be glad she was given a class to teach at all. 

“And Miss Jinx’s classes?” Hecate couldn’t stop her curiosity. After all, someone would have to teach them. 

Pippa stepped onto the landing of the second story and turned down the left hallway. “I’ll be covering her classes. She taught the first years magical history.” She opened a door at the end of the hallway and motioned for Hecate to precede her in.

Hecate stepped through and into an airy sitting room furnished with a small table to one side and a cluster of modern-looking armchairs on the other. A small, coal burning stove sat in a corner, though Hecate suspected it wasn’t in use anymore. A place as devoted to the new and innovative as Pentagle’s wouldn’t rely on coal to heat the rooms. Cackle’s was still a bit too dependent on fires to maintain a livable temperature in the winter, but Hecate was fond of the smell of burning wood and she suspected she would miss it once the seasons changed. 

Pippa followed Hecate into the room but looked supremely uncomfortable. “The bedroom is through there.” She pointed toward the door set into the room’s right hand wall. Hecate nodded. 

“Well, I’ll leave you to unpack.” Pippa nodded. “If you need anything, my rooms are across the hall.” It went unspoken between them that Hecate wouldn’t knock on Pippa’s door for anything short of her own death, and even then likely not. “I’ll see you at the staff meeting on Saturday afternoon.” It also went unspoken that she wouldn’t see Hecate again until that staff meeting. 

“Of course.” Hecate nodded. Pippa turned on her heel and left, closing the door a bit too sharply behind herself. 

Left alone in the room for the first time, Hecate relaxed fractionally. They might have barely managed civility for the length of the walk, but they _had_ managed it. Oh, the term was still going to be a disaster, and the Great Wizard’s experiment a failure, but at least they could be in the same room with each other without burning down the building. Hecate took a deep breath and headed into the bedroom. She needed to put her things away. That would occupy her for at least half an hour. After that, well, she supposed she could walk around and get a feel for the school. Who knew if the person Pippa would assign to give her a tour would be at all competent. Better to take matters into her own hands.

* * *

After exploring the hallways and finding the library, after examining the classrooms and the potion’s storeroom, Hecate thought perhaps the school itself wouldn’t be the worst place to spend a few months. Oh, everything was too modern by far, but the potions classroom was properly equipped and the gardens, which she wanted to take a more thorough look at later, were well tended. She wondered when the gardener came around and if she might speak to her. 

She was, however, getting a bit hungry, so she turned in the direction of the kitchens. She assumed there would be something in the larder that she could turn into a meal without too much effort. Though she was perfectly capable, she’d gotten, well, spoiled wasn’t exactly a word inspired by Miss Tapioca’s cooking, but she was rather out of the habit of preparing her own meals. A sandwich would be just fine, or even some bread and cheese and fruit. Still not comfortable transferring about the house, that would come with familiarity, she walked into the kitchen only to be brought up short. 

Pippa stood over a pot, stirring it, and humming lightly to herself. Hecate thought she recognized it as one of the chants that had been popular when they were teenagers, but it was too low for her to be sure. She thought of retreating, allowing Pippa her meal in peace, but Hecate had every right to use the space as Pippa, and if they couldn’t share a kitchen for an hour, how were they supposed to share a school for six months? 

“Ahem,” Hecate coughed. Pippa startled and whipped around, her open expression immediately shuttering. 

“Hecate.” She crossed her arms over her chest. 

Hecate clenched her jaw. “Pippa.” What else was there to say, really?

“The larder is through there.” Pippa nodded to an open doorway. 

“Yes, I assumed.” Hecate moved stiffly toward the room. 

Pippa’s eyes narrowed. “A ‘thank you,’ wouldn’t be out of place.” 

“As if I don’t have you to thank for this entire situation,” Hecate growled out. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“This entire preposterous affair. I don’t for a minute believe the Great Wizard cares about ‘inter school cooperation.’ This has your fingerprints all over it.” Hecate pointed at Pippa. If she had been closer, she would have pushed her finger right into Pippa’s chest. 

“So what if it was my idea?” Pippa threw her hands up. “What’s so terrible about trying to get along with the other schools in Great Britain?” 

“What’s so bad…?” Hecate looked at Pippa as though she was crazy. “Are you saying you want me to be stuck at your infernal school for the next six months?” 

“My infernal…” Pippa shook her head sharply and put her hands on her hips. “I didn’t, perhaps, anticipate that they would send _you_ here, but I have been nothing but hospitable since you arrived.” 

“You didn’t _anticipate_?” Hecate spit out the word. “That’s just it, isn’t it? You never anticipate anything.” 

“No,” Pippa interjected. “You don’t get to say anything about what I do and do not think about. Not anymore.” 

“Fine.” Hecate balled her hands into fists. “I’ll come back later. Enjoy your dinner.” With that, Hecate curled her fingers and disappeared. She could wait a few more hours to eat. 

* * *

“Miss Hardbroom. Hecate.” Hecate heard the unfamiliar voice calling her name and turned toward it. Cassandra La Croix waved for her to slow down. Hecate doubted the spell science teacher had much of interest to say, but she wouldn’t get off on the wrong foot with her colleagues by ignoring them outright on her first day. 

“Can I help you?” She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. 

“Yes! Well, actually, I thought I might be able to help you. Pippa asked me to give you a quick tour. Show you where your office is, that sort of thing.” Cassandra craned her head up as she approached. She was tiny and elfin and Hecate wondered if maybe she actually did have a bit of the Fey in her, though there wasn’t a polite way to ask. She made Hecate feel tall and awkward. Still, there was something about her eyes that seemed too shrewd despite her apparent friendliness. 

“I spent yesterday acquainting myself with the grounds. I believe I have a grasp on where everything is located.” 

“Then at least let me point out which office is yours.” Cassandra smiled endearingly and Hecate had to admit, that wasn’t something she could figure out on her own. It was either let Cassandra show her, or ask Pippa. The latter was simply inconceivable, so she nodded in acquiescence. 

“Fine.” 

“Great!” Cassandra linked her arm through Hecate’s and tugged her down the hallway from the staff room to a secluded corner. Hecate had no choice but to follow her. “Here we go.” She pushed open the door. “Ta da.” 

With a skeptical look, Hecate stepped into the room. Two of the walls were made of windows, through heavy drapes hung open around them. The desk looked solid and imposing and Hecate couldn’t stop herself from thinking it was something she might choose for herself if given the choice. It seemed a bit incongruous in the room, but that was much like Hecate herself, wasn’t it. Neither of them was built to fit into Pentangle’s philosophy or aesthetic. 

“The desk should be all set with office supplies, but if you need anything, I can show you to the supply closet. Most of the staff have open door policies during office hours, but you’re free to do as you see fit.” 

“Open. Door. Policy?” Hecate looked at Cassandra like she had grown a second head. 

“You know, letting your students drop by without an appointment. It fosters communication.” 

“Yes, I’m aware of the concept. I simply find it preposterous. If my students need to speak to me, they can do so in class or they can arrange a proper meeting time. No one in real life allows another person to ‘drop in’ while they’re working. Why should the students be any different?” 

Cassandra looked uncomfortable but didn’t say anything about Hecate’s teaching philosophy. 

“I’m sure you’re free to run your office as you see fit. Unless Pippa says something about it, I suppose.” She shrugged. Hecate thought it highly unlikely that Pippa would have anything to say about her teaching methods. After all, she knew what she was getting when she found out Hecate would be teaching at her school. 

“Yes. Quite.” Hecate crossed her arms. She wanted to be alone to look through the office. 

Cassandra looked expectantly at Hecate, but Hecate didn’t have anything to say to the other woman. 

“Was there anything else?” Hecate raised an eyebrow. 

“No. No, not at all!” Cassandra shuffled her feet. “I guess I’ll just leave you to it.” With a short little wave, Cassandra turned and left Hecate alone. 

* * *

After the encounter with Cassandra La Croix, Hecate looked through the drawers of her desk and found her class roster for the term. There were only four pupils in the class in total. Three girls and a boy, and she suddenly realized she would have to teach a boy. Oh, she had known Pentangle’s was co-ed, but she hadn’t thought about how that would affect her own teaching. It had been more of an abstract concept. She left the roster on her desk and left the office. It was too early for dinner, and with nothing else to do, Hecate headed outside. It was as good a time as any to explore the gardens she had seen as she had approached Pentangle’s from the air. 

As Hecate left the building, she could hear the sound of other members of the facility echoing through the hallways, and she preferred not to interact with them at the moment knowing she would have to do so at the evening meal. She stepped onto the pathway that led through the gardens as banks of flowers bloomed at their edges. The gardener had clearly eschewed the formal gardens that might have existed when the house was first built and replaced them with something more from the middle of the eighteenth century, reminiscent of the naturalistic style of Capability Brown and full of banks of flowers and a lawn hemmed in by hedges. There was a pond off in the distance with a bridge spanning one end.

Hecate set off toward it thinking it would be a lovely place to watch the sunset when it got a bit later even as yet more Georgian columns dotted the landscape. Hecate though the vista would look better without them, but they had probably been installed back in the seventeen-sixties or something and there was no taking them down now.

She stepped onto the first of the stone bridges and meandered toward the island that connected the two of them. It was small enough that only a dirt path had been cut across it. She stopped at the edge of the first bridge where she could rest her hands atop the stones. They radiated the heat of the day and it seeped into Hecate’s bones, helping her to relax for the first time since she had woken in her ridiculous _platform_ bed. 

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Hecate startled and spun to see who had addressed her. It was a woman in trousers and a long sleeved, button down shirt. She held gardening gloves in one hand. 

“Didn’t mean to make you jump.” The other woman smiled at Hecate genially as she wrung the gloves between her hands. “I’m Serena Grimsbane. The gardener. I saw you walking out here and thought I’d introduce myself.” Hecate noticed the dirt under her fingernails. “You must be Hecate Hardbroom.” She raised her hand to her forehead. “Well met.”

“Well met,” Hecate said as she returned the gesture. Hecate waited for Serena to say something. She didn’t have to wait long. 

“I’m like you, you know?” Serena started. When Hecate looked at her curiously, she went on. “New here. The last gardener just retired.” 

“Then this isn’t your work?” Hecate waved a hand to encompass the entirety of the landscape. 

“Oh, no.” Serena shook her head. “Though I’m not looking to change much. Maybe add a few new useful plants over by the greenhouse, some yarrow, some nightshade.” 

“Nightshade? Isn’t that a bit dangerous with so many children about?” Hecate furrowed her brow. It wasn’t something she’d ever plant near to Cackle’s. 

“Oh, I’ll put up a barrier spell that should keep the young ones out. I wouldn’t let anyone get poisoned due to my own carelessness. Besides, Miss Pentangle thought it a ’splendid idea.’”

“Well, if Miss Pentangle approves.” Hecate’s voice was thick with sarcasm.

“Don’t get along with the Head Mistress, then?” Serena asked mildly. 

“We have a past. One I would prefer not to go into.” Hecate crossed her arms. 

Serena laughed. “Keep your secrets, then. I don’t need to hear them. Now, I have a few more chores to finish before the sun sets. Enjoy your walk in my garden, Hecate Hardbroom.” 

“Goodbye, Miss Grimsbane.” Hecate nodded her head as the other woman set off. Hecate followed her a few minutes later. Dinner would be starting soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than I wanted it to, but maybe the US holiday will mean I can get chapter 3 out quicker. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Wrapped in her bathrobe, with a towel slung over her shoulder, Hecate left her suite of rooms and sleepily trudged toward the door to the bathroom. To say that she wasn’t a morning person would have been an understatement. She normally took her shower in the evening to avoid the unpleasantness of waking up earlier than necessary, but there had been an incident after dinner the night before, and by the time her potions classroom was returned to its previous state, she was too tired to climb into the shower. Now, here she was, up earlier than she wanted to be in order to get ready for her day. 

Hair down around her shoulders, she pushed at the door to the communal bathroom only to find it locked. Cackle’s had long since magicked en suites into the staff quarters and she missed the luxury. A shower shut off and Hecate blearily looked up. Having discovered it was the bathroom with the hottest water of the two in that wing of the building, Hecate leaned back against the wall to let it’s occupant remove herself before Hecate took her place. She was looking down at her feet when the door to the bathroom opened. As soon as she looked up, she wished that she hadn’t. Wearing little more than a mid-thigh length robe, Pippa met her look full on. The stared at each other in shock. Hecate though she might have seen Pippa truly relaxed for a moment, but if so, it was gone now. She glared at Hecate as if Hecate was a harbinger of doom, come to tear her school down to it’s constituting bricks. 

“Good morning,” Pippa ground out. Clearly, there was nothing good about _that_ morning based on Pippa’s reaction. 

“To you as well.” Hecate responded by rote. She finally looked up from the curve of Pippa’s calves to her face, except her eyes got stuck at the swell of Pippa’s breasts under the robe. She tore her eyes away and to the side, color appearing high on her cheekbones. Pippa looked warm and soft and like nothing Hecate should be paying attention to. She drew herself up, making her posture as straight as possible to cover for her inadvertent staring. 

“Cutting it a bit close to the start of breakfast, aren’t you?” Pippa crossed her arms across her chest and looked imperiously up at Hecate. 

“As my first class isn’t until ten, I’m not concerned.” Hecate stared Pippa down. 

“And how does it look when the _Deputy Head_ can’t make it to breakfast on time?” 

“If you’ve complaints about my job performance, I believe a conversation _in your office_ would be more appropriate than one outside the bathroom when we’re still in our robes.”

“Then I suppose I shall be seeing you in my office after your afternoon class.” Without allowing for a rejoinder, Pippa waved her fingers and transferred away. 

Hecate exhaled audibly before pushing her way into the bathroom. She would have to be quick. Suddenly, getting to breakfast on time was of paramount importance.

* * *

“So, how are you settling in?” Cassandra said as she sat down next to Hecate at the staff table in the dining room. 

“Settling in?” Hecate raised an eyebrow. “I suppose I’m ‘settling in’ adequately.” 

“I just mean, it’s been a couple of weeks now. Have you found everything you need for your lessons? Are you getting on with the students?” Cassandra had an open expression on her face, as if she actually cared about Hecate’s answers, unlike the rest of the staff, who had been rather cool to her thus far. She didn’t much care about what her colleagues thought of her. She was only going to be there for the term and then she could go back to Cackle’s where everyone was appropriately respectful. Well, save for Dimity, but Dimity barely counted anymore, as Hecate had gotten used to her antics and her infernal use of nicknames.

“The potions lab has been appropriately stocked and the children have an adequate knowledge of the subject matter.” _How_ they had managed to obtain such knowledge, Hecate wasn’t sure. From what she had seen, the entire faculty’s approach to teaching was chaotic at best. She had sat in on one of the usual potions teacher’s lectures and been appalled at the lack of discipline. It had been a miracle nothing had exploded. Still, at least they taught potions, rather than giving themselves over to Modern Magic entirely. 

Cassandra blinked at Hecate’s assessment. “Such glowing praise from the renowned Hecate Hardbroom. However shall we cope?” She burst into laughter and put a hand on Hecate’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly. Hecate held herself still until Casssandra removed her hand. “Good to know things are appropriate and adequate.” She shook her head. 

Hecate sighed. “The cooking, at least, is superb.” She hoped Miss Tapioca couldn’t hear her betrayal or she’d never have an edible meal again at Cackle’s. 

“There you go.” Cassandra bumped her shoulder against Hecate’s. “You do know how to give a compliment.” 

Hecate swayed with the force of it but quickly recomposed herself. “I give compliments when they are warranted.” 

“Well, good to know the food, at least, stacks up.” With that, Cassandra started eating. A moment later, Hecate mimicked her. 

* * *

Hecate rapped sharply on the door to Pippa’s office, waiting for an acknowledgement before she opened it and strode into the room. Pippa sat behind a desk of pale wood and modern lines. Nothing at all like the desk in Hecate’s borrowed office. There was a compact grouping of chairs off to one side, likely where she would take tea with parents and donors. The entire effect was pleasant enough, but Hecate missed the cozy disarray that was Ada’s office. 

Pippa’s maglet, hooked up to a second screen, something Hecate had heard about, but never encountered, stood to one side of her desk. Seeing it now, Hecate thought it a useless extravagance. She much preferred pen and paper for work. Pippa was looking at the screen intently, leaving Hecate to stand before her desk and wait to be acknowledged. It was a situation she detested. If it had been Ada, they could simply have a conversation without the need for power games. If it had been Ada, the conversation wouldn’t have been needed in the first place, as they fundamentally agreed on the best way to educate their students. 

“You wanted to see me, _Headmistress_ ,” Hecate bit out, tired of waiting for Pippa to say something.

“Yes, _Miss Hardbroom_ , thank you for joining me.” Another one of Pippa’s insincere smiles came to her face. “I’m afraid we need to have a discussion about your teaching style. Namely, that it is antithetical to everything Pentangle’s believes in. It’s confusing the students.”

“Then the students are easily confused.” Hecate forced her shoulders down and back to avoid reacting to the unexpected sting of Pippa’s words. 

“Wendy Willow came to me distraught yesterday saying you had given her a detention.”

“What of it?” She’d caught the girl running in the hallways. Even at Pentangle’s, that had to be against the rules. 

“What…?” Pippa looked at Hecate astonished. “We don’t believe in giving out detentions here. Did you even read the pedagogical guide I left in your office?” 

“I read the first three pages, decided it was experimental claptrap, and stopped wasting my time.” 

Pippa fumed. “How are we supposed to learn anything from each other if you won’t put in the slightest bit of effort to assimilate?” 

“I’ve nothing to learn from a system that refuses to make its students sit down and pay attention.” Hecate crossed her arms. “And it isn’t as if you’ve any interest in learning about the way I teach.”

“You _teach_ as if it’s still nineteen fifty-eight.” Pippa placed her hands flat on her desk and stood up. 

“And yet, Cackle’s exit test scores still beat out yours.” 

“Test scores aren’t everything.” 

“I’ve found that’s often said at school’s that simply can’t keep up.” 

Pippa escalated from furious to apoplectic. “How dare you. If you think so little of our students, perhaps you should go back to Cackle’s.” 

Hecate stared Pippa down. “Are you ordering me to leave?” She knew Pippa couldn’t, not without jeopardizing her own project. Just as she didn’t have the freedom to leave of her own volition either. 

Pippa took a deep breath and seemed to come back to herself. “I can’t tell you to go, but I can tell you Wendy Willow will _not_ be attending your detention and neither will any of my other students. If you want to know appropriate techniques for disciplining students, you may read the guide. Now, get out of my office.” Pippa sat back down but kept her eyes on Hecate.

“Yes, _Headmistress_.” Hecate could have sworn Pippa’s gaze was a physical thing, burning heavily into her skin. She returned the glare, but had no choice except to turn and leave. 

Hecate closed the door sharply behind her. Dinner was still several hours away, so she turned toward her office. She had essays she needed to mark and this seemed an opportune time to do so. That is, assuming Pentangle’s still gave out something so pedestrian as _marks_.

* * *

It was a dreary day as Hecate opened the door that led out to the outbuildings that held the classrooms. She nearly stumbled over Serena Grimsbane as she left the building. 

“Oh, sorry.” Serena looked chagrined. “Moving faster than my eyes can keep up with.” 

“It’s fine.” Hecate shook her head. Serena really needed to be more careful, but as Hecate wasn’t her instructor, it wasn’t her place to say anything. Besides, she had already developed a bit of a soft spot for the gardener, so she brushed it off. 

“Just going in to see Miss Pentangle about the landscaping in the front of the building. I’d like to add a bit more color.”

Hecate nodded. “I’m sure whatever you come up with will be exemplary.” 

“I appreciate the vote of confidence. I’d best be on my way though.” With a brisk nod, Serena ducked past Hecate and into the building.

* * *

Hecate sighed as the last of the students cleaned out their cauldrons. The weather had not improved, and it had been a long day, filled with too many rambunctious children. They were getting ready to go on a field trip, the first of far too many in Hecate’s estimation, but at least she didn’t have to chaperone this one. Just a day trip to a local nature preserve, something Hecate would generally enjoy, but not with a school full of children darting about and getting into trouble. 

“Miss Hardbroom?” Hecate turned toward the door where Wendy Willow had called her name. What the girl could possibly need that was so urgent she would block the door, Hecate couldn’t fathom. 

“Yes?” She raised an eyebrow as she asked. 

“The door won’t open.” Wendy had her hand on the door handle, but as she tugged nothing happened. It had to be a joke though, and a bad one at that. 

“What do you mean, ‘the door won’t open?’ Have you taken leave of your senses?” She walked over, waded through the students, and pulled on the door herself. It didn’t budge. She frowned. She tugged again. Still nothing happened. “This is ridiculous. Whomever cast this spell needs to reverse it immediately.” She glowered down at the students. “Now, who did it?”

The five students in her class looked around between themselves, but none volunteered. Hecate huffed. “Fine.” She flicked her hand and sent a blast of magic at the door only to have to duck as it ricocheted off and back into the classroom. Hecate’s frown grew deeper. 

“Clearly, this spell is too advanced for anyone in this class.” She twisted her hand again, this time to transfer out of the classroom. If she could transfer herself out, she could transfer the children and the faculty could figure out the mystery of the locked door later. She felt herself start to disintegrate only to be slammed back into her body still inside the locked room. She gritted her teeth. It took quite advanced magic to prevent transference. 

She stomped over to where a mirror hung in a corner of the classroom. There was nothing to do for it but contact Pippa. The connection opened between the two mirrors. 

“Miss Pentangle.” Pippa was looking down at something on her desk, but she looked up when Hecate addressed her. She looked surprised but kept her composure. 

“What can I do for you, Miss Hardbroom?” Pippa asked. 

“My classroom door won’t open.” She bit out each word barely controlling her anger. It was a ridiculous situation. It was even more ridiculous that her magic couldn’t open the door.

“Your door won’t open?” Pippa looked at Hecate in confusion. 

“Someone has spelled it to keep it from opening. Additionally, I find myself unable to transfer out.” Hecate hated having to admit to what she saw as a terrible weakness. “While I’m sure I could eventually find a spell that would release us, I assumed you would want to be informed. This is your school after all.” 

“Of course.” Pippa’s expression turned serious. “I’ll be right there.”

A moment later, there was a knock on the door. “Miss Hardbroom, are you still there?”

“Where else would I be?” Hecate replied. 

“Are the students alright?” Pippa called out. 

“They are no worse for wear, which I will not be able to say about this door if you don’t find a way to open it soon.” 

“Now, now, I’m sure there’s no reason to resort to property damage. Yet.” Hecate could hear Pippa tapping on different parts of the door, obviously listening for something Hecate herself couldn’t hear. 

She bristled at Pippa’s seeming nonchalance. “Would you stop wasting time? I’ve no desire to be trapped in here all day while you do whatever infernal thing you’re doing.” 

“What I’m doing is getting you out of there. If you would kindly be quiet.” Hecate could hear the exasperation in Pippa’s voice. Well, she was exasperated too. She huffed out a breath. 

A few taps later and the door sprung open. As it swung inward, the children let out a little cry of excitement. Hecate could see the smile on Pippa’s face as the children rushed past her and off to their next lessons. 

Hecate narrowed her eyes. “You did that easily enough.” 

“What are you implying?” Pippa put her hands on her hips. 

“Merely that the door was being held closed by a powerful spell and you came and gave it a few taps and suddenly it opened.” Hecate didn’t try to keep the suspicion from her voice. 

Pippa pursed her lips. “The spell was a variation on the one we use to lock down the lab in the event of an emergency. It’s supposed to transfer everyone _out_ of the lab when activated. I’m not sure what went wrong, or how it got activated, but I thought the usual way of deactivating the spell might work. Any yes, that involves tapping on the door in the correct pattern to get it to open up. It’s a neat bit of _modern magic_ that I’m sure you’d know nothing about.” 

Hecate’s eyes squinted down to a glare. “Just because I do not practice _modern magic_ myself, doesn’t mean I am wholly unfamiliar with how it works. I simply find it… frivolous.” 

“Well, that frivolousness just saved you from being trapped in the potions lab for the rest of oblivion, so I wouldn’t be so quick to disparage it.”

“That magic was what got me trapped in the lab in the first place. What if there had been an actual emergency and your spell had gone wrong. The entire class would have been trapped inside with a volatile, possibly deadly, potion gone wrong.”

“That wouldn’t have happened.” Pippa shook her head. 

“That is _exactly_ what happened,” Hecate hissed. “You simply got lucky that nothing else went wrong.” 

Pippa shook her head. “You think you know everything, don’t you? The students are safe. You’ve been freed. What else do you want?”

“I _want_ to make sure this sort of thing never happens again. At the very least, I should have been told about a spell affecting a room I spend at least half of my time in.” 

“If you had bothered to read the guide I left you, you would have known about it. I can’t be held responsible for your willful ignorance.” With a flick of her wrist, Pippa transferred away.

* * *

Hecate rubbed a hand over her forehead as she sat at her vanity. It had been a long day. None of the students seemed bothered by their time stuck in the potions lab. If anything, their overheard chattering about it indicated they thought it a lark. Perhaps that was for the best. No sense in them losing sleep over an emergency that got wrapped up so neatly, without any real consequences. Still, Hecate wondered just what had happened to trip the spell to begin with. That hadn’t been something she and Pippa had discussed. Maybe Pippa knew and simply wasn’t telling her.

Pippa. 

There was no helping her relationship with Pippa. They were going to be at odds for the rest of the term. It would be best if they could just continue to avoid each other. 

She looked up a the mirror and opened a line to Cackle’s, to Ada’s room. Perhaps Ada could lend a sympathetic ear. 

“Hecate.” She looked up into Ada’s smiling face. “It’s been weeks since you’ve mirrored. You know, I really expected better of you.” The twinkle in Ada’s eyes took away any actual reproach in her words. 

Hecate let a small smile grace her lips. “I apologize. I’ve been a bit distracted lately,”

“Is Miss Pentangle keeping you busy then?” Ada asked. 

Hecate’s expression shuttered. “Miss Pentangle is intractable and obstinate. She doesn’t know what she’s doing and ‘modern magic’ is a farce.” 

“Really, Hecate.” Ada shook her head. “I expected you would have moved past that sort of thinking by now. Haven’t you learned a thing working there? I know Artemis has made quite a go of it here. She isn’t you, of course, but she’s near enough. I believe the girls have benefited immensely from her presence, even if she does do things in an unconventional way from time to time.” 

Hecate pursed her lips. After that, she could hardly admit to Ada and she and Pippa could barely be in the same room together without coming to blows. “I’m glad things are going well with Miss Jinx,” Hecate sounded exactly the opposite. She wanted to return to Cackle’s, but would Cackle’s even be the same place once the term ended? 

“Enough complaints.” Ada waved Hecate off. “Tell me what’s been going on with you. Don’t leave out any of the details.” Ada sat back in her chair, settling in for a long conversation. Hecate didn’t know how long she could pretend that things were going well though. Still, she would _try_. If it meant Ada would be happy, she would try.

* * *

Hecate stopped at the edge of the bridge, just before a final step that would take her onto the island in the pond. It was several days after her latest argument with Pippa and autumn was starting to nip at the air. This bridge across the pond had easily become her favorite place at Pentangle’s, and she liked to come sit at the edge of the water whenever she had a bit of free time in the evenings. Not having to run detentions left her with far more time than she was accustomed to. She rested her hands on the stone once again and looked out over the water toward the sunset. This time, she heard the scuff of Serena’s boots before she could announce herself. 

“Nice evening for a stroll, eh?” Serena stopped partway across the bridge. 

“I suppose.” Hecate had relaxed, but with Serena’s arrival, she straightened her posture. Serena waved her off though. 

“No one here but us. You’re allowed to loosen up a little.” Serena smiled at her. Hecate found the corners of her mouth start to curl up just a bit in return. She didn’t think she had really let her guard down since she had first arrived at Pentangle’s, always ready for an attack from any quarter. Hecate took a deep breath. Serena was the gardener. It was unlikely she would care about the pedagogical differences Hecate had with Pippa. She likely didn’t think of pedagogy at all. Hecate sighed. 

“What’s on your mind?” Serena asked, seemingly without another agenda. “Problems with the headmistress?”

“How do you—“

Serena shook her head. “I doubt there’s anyone at this school, save the students, who doesn’t know you and the headmistress have your disagreements.” 

Hecate pursed her lips. “I do not like being the source of idle gossip.” She crossed her arms and looked away. 

Serena shrugged. “Care to share what’s gotten you in a tiff with Miss Pentangle now?”

Hecate looked at Serena, debating whether to share her feelings or brush off the attempt at camaraderie. Making up her mind, she rubbed her forehead. “Our current disagreement is only a variation of the disagreement we’ve been having since I arrived. Namely, Pentangle’s entire curriculum is little more than claptrap with a veneer of psychology laid overtop of it. They have no respect for witching traditions, traditions that have stood us in good stead for centuries, and their students will be woefully unprepared for the real world.” Hecate had started to pace during her monologue, but now, she stopped. “Miss Pentangle is doing her students a disservice by coddling them. And seeing it up close, _modern magic_ is the most ridiculous fad I’ve ever seen. You can’t solve every problem with chanting in three part harmony, as much as Pippa seems to think you can. You need basics. You need foundations. You need _discipline_ , which is sorely lacking at this school.” 

“Sounds like there isn’t much you find worthwhile here.” Serena sympathized. 

Hecate merely glowered. 

“You must get lonely.” Serena clasped her hands together. 

“I am _fine_. This is a temporary situation and I’ve been here for a month already. It’s only a matter of time before I’m allowed to return to Cackle’s and be surrounded by sensible people once again.” 

“Keep you head down and let time take care of the problem for you?”

“Precisely.” Hecate nodded. A witch might make things go her way, but sometimes there was nothing to be done but let a situation play out. 

“Well, I wish you luck.” Serena nodded. “I’ve got to get back to the greenhouse. The night blooming lilies are set to bloom tonight. I’ve got to harvest them while I can.” 

Hecate sighed again. “Thank you.” 

With a quick nod, Serena turned and left the little island, walked over the bridge, then turning toward the greenhouse. Hecate looked up at the main building of Pentangle’s She needed to make her way back, but a few more minutes on the bridge wouldn’t hurt anything. She could wait just a bit longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are awesome!  
> You can find me on tumblr @twtd11


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished this chapter faster than I anticipated. It’s a bit on the shorter side, but I’ve also increased the number of chapters by two, so make of that what you will. As is often the case, this chapter is all Cliotheproclaimer’s fault.

“Uungh,” Hecate groaned into her empty bedroom. She felt like someone on a broomstick had crashed into her at full speed. Her muscles ached and she could barely breathe. She wanted to do nothing more than roll over, pull a pillow over her head, and go back to sleep. She burrowed further into her blankets before she realized why she wasn’t allowed to do just that. She had a class to teach. And per Pippa, she needed to present herself at breakfast in order to be a good role model. She wondered just how much trouble she would be in if she decided not to go to breakfast anyway. Still, getting into yet another argument with Pippa while her head pounded didn’t seem wise.

Hecate pushed back the blankets and sat up, then shakily stood. She knew a quick spell to get dressed was probably out of the question. She needed to save her energy for when she might really need her magic. There was no telling what sort of mischief her students might get into in class that would require magical intervention. So she forced her aching body into clothing the Ordinary way, buttoning each button and buckling each buckle until she was presentable. She risked a bit of magic for her hair. She didn’t trust she would be able to lift her arms long enough to do it properly without magic and appearing unkempt wasn’t an option. 

She took a deep breath and looked toward the door. Nothing to do for it but make her way to breakfast. Maybe she would feel better after she ate.

* * *

Hecate took her seat at the breakfast table not noticing that Cassandra, her normal companion for meals, was nowhere to be seen. She doctored up her porridge the way she liked it and was just about to take her first bite when she felt a presence hovering over her shoulder. A slow turn of her head revealed Pippa. It was only then that she realized the seat next to her was the only seat open at the staff table. She tried to sit up straighter so as not to give away the fact that she felt miserable. The slightest sign of weakness and Pippa was liable to pounce. She leaned slightly away from Pippa as the other woman took the seat. 

“Am I so loathsome that you can’t even sit next to me?” Pippa kept her voice down but Hecate was clearly meant to hear the comment. 

“Certainly not.” Hecate gritted her teeth together. She resisted the urge to sniff. Drums started to beat against her sinuses and in her head. “I was merely attempting to give you more space.” 

“I’m sure that was it,” Pippa muttered, the disbelief evident in her voice. 

Hecate wanted to put her head in her hands. She took a bite of her porridge then pushed the bowl away from herself. She had barely touched it, but she couldn’t stay where she was. She would end up doing something regrettable that even she couldn’t justify. 

“If you’ll excuse me.” Hecate pushed her chair back without waiting for a response. She stood, only a bit shaky, and walked away from the table. Cassandra, who turned out to be talking to Matthew Moonstone, gave her a curious look as she passed, but Hecate couldn’t be bothered to stop and converse. She left the room and headed outside. The cool air sounded like a good idea against her overheated skin.

* * *

Stepping outside, Hecate did feel a bit better. She didn’t go far. A long walk just wasn’t in her that morning. She headed toward the classroom buildings. Getting there early wouldn’t hurt anything. 

She was nearly there when she thought she saw someone moving about in the herb garden. If it was one of the students, she needed to send them back inside. She took a few steps off the path, only to be caught but a coughing jag that felt like it would last forever. When she looked up, the shadow had disappeared.

With a sigh, Hecate turned back toward her classroom. She didn’t have the energy to go chasing after ghosts.

* * *

Hecate looked up from her lesson as the door to her classroom opened. She still felt horrible, and she thought she might have a fever. When she saw Pippa slide through the door, she clenched her teeth together to stop herself from saying something inappropriate in front of the students. 

“Is there something I can do for you, Miss Pentangle?” She put a hand on the table at the front of the room to steady herself. She hoped she was subtle about it. 

“I’ve come to observe your class. I thought it long past time.” Pippa found one of the empty stools and took a seat. “Don’t mind me.” The words were innocuous enough, but Hecate could feel the undercurrent of distrust in them. Pippa would pick that day of all days to intrude on Hecate’s class. 

“Of course.” There wasn’t much else she could say. Pippa was well within her rights to observe. Hecate, herself, had certainly spent enough time observing other teachers, particularly when they were new to Cackle’s. She tried to take a deep breath, but that only left her feeling like she needed to cough. She resisted the urge.

She turned back to her lesson. “As I was saying before we were interrupted, you must thoroughly crush the walnut with your mortar and pestle before you start brewing the potion. That part of the brewing process where you add it to the potion happens very quickly, and you won’t have time to do it later.” She walked between the four students watching them intently as they did as she said.

As she returned to the front of the classroom, Matthew Moonstone raised his hand. She narrowed her eyes. By now, her students knew she didn’t like being interrupted and Matthew had been doing an adequate job of crushing his ingredients. He spoke before she could acknowledge him. 

“Miss Hardbroom, I don’t feel so…” He collapsed, sliding sideways off of his stool. Before he could hit the ground, Hecate transferred over to where he was and caught him. She sagged under his weight only to have some of it shouldered by Pippa a moment later. Still Hecate’s heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. 

“The infirmary,” Pippa said and Hecate nodded. A second later and Pippa transferred all three of them to the infirmary. 

Once they reappeared, they quickly moved Matthew to the nearest bed. Hecate felt for his pulse, which was weaker than she wanted it to be. He was breathing slowly and a quick exam showed his pupils were quite large. He felt clammy to her touch. What could have happened to the boy? She thought back over her class, but they hadn’t used any ingredients that would cause a child to collapse. Whatever was going on, it had to have started before her class did. 

Pippa brushed some of the hair back from his forehead. “He doesn’t appear to be ill.” 

“A diagnostic spell, then?” Hecate suggested. It would be the quickest way to find out what was wrong with the boy.

Pippa nodded and held out her hand to Hecate. Hecate took it and they began the chant. Magic, in the form of glittery lights, swirled around Matthew. Slowly, they started to come together, forming into a solid shape. A nightshade plant. Hecate had _known_ keeping it in the garden was a bad idea. 

Pippa let out a breath. “How he could have gotten in it, I don’t know, but at least now we know what’s happened to him.” 

“Quite.” Hecate was too tired to bring up her questions in that regard.

“A general antidote tincture?” Pippa asked. “We should have some on hand.” 

“Helga’s Ancient Antidote Potion would work better.” Hecate rubbed her forehead with her fingers. Her headache was coming back. 

“We’d have to make it,” Pippa said thoughtfully, not dismissing the idea out of hand.

“It wouldn’t take long. Not with two sets of hands.” 

“Alright.” Pippa nodded. “You can transfer us back to the potions lab.” 

Hecate nodded, then took a deep breath. She was quickly burning through all of her energy, but there was nothing to do for it. With a twist of her hand, they were back in the potions lab. Her three remaining students were still there, but Hecate quickly dismissed them for the day. As she was shuffling them off, Pippa was busy going around the storeroom and collecting ingredients. 

Hecate moved over to one of the spare, clean cauldrons and started adding things as Pippa brought them to her. Pippa was an able assistant, putting things within Hecate’s reach just as she needed them. The potion turned green, then red, then purple, as smoke started to rise from the cauldron. Hecate said the necessary spell as she added the last of the ingredients. The potion flashed a blinding white light and finally settled to a clear color. 

“We need to wait five minutes for it to strengthen, but there’s no reason we can’t do that in the infirmary.” Hecate started to decant the potion into a more portable bottle. As soon as she was finished, she nodded to Pippa and Pippa transferred them back to the infirmary. 

Matthew’s condition hadn’t changed from when they had left him and Hecate sighed in relief. She put the potion down and looked at her watch. Another four minutes and they could give it to him. 

Suddenly, Hecate felt all of the exertion from the last twenty minutes hit her. She stumbled over to the closest chair and sank down into it as a coughing spell overtook her. As she struggled for breath, she felt a cool hand come to rest on her back, rubbing it lightly. As soon as she stopped coughing, that hand relocated to her forehead. 

“Hecate, you’re burning up,” Pippa tisked. “Are you ill?” She looked at Hecate sympathetically as she removed her hand. 

“I’m fine,” Hecate said, but the way she swayed in her seat belied that. She closed her eyes. 

Pippa sighed. “You should have said. You must be exhausted.” 

Hecate started coughing again, curling in on herself as she did so. “I’ll be fine.” Her voice was hoarse though. 

“You’re being ridiculous.” Pippa rolled her eyes, but with something that looked dangerously close to affection. “Help me get this potion in Matthew, and then I’ll get you something for that cold.” 

Pippa sat on the edge of Matthew’s bed and tilted his torso upright. It took more effort than it should have, but Hecate managed to spoon some of the potion past his lips and down his throat. He wriggled slightly in Pippa’s arms before setting into a more normal type of sleep. Pippa carefully laid him back down. 

“I should be going.” Hecate said stiffly. She wasn’t sure what to do with this more solicitous Pippa. She started to twist her fingers, but Pippa reached over and covered them, stopping Hecate from transferring away. 

“None of that. You’re going to take a potion and then you’re going to go to bed. We’ll get you some soup later.” Hecate moved back to the chair she had collapsed in earlier and sagged. She didn’t have the energy to fight with Pippa. 

Pippa bustled around the infirmary just as efficiently as she had the potions lab, collecting a clear, red potion and a clean spoon. She unstopped the potion and poured it into the spoon. Before she could stop and think, Hecate opened her mouth and Pippa stuck the spoon in it. Hecate waited for the bitter taste of the potion to set in, but instead, she was surprised by the burst of peppermint flavor she got instead. It tasted exactly like the potion variant she had first brewed for Pippa back in school. She had created it when they were teenagers and Pippa, subject to her twice yearly cold, complained about the taste of the potion their teachers had forced upon them. 

She had never published the recipe. It worked exactly the same as any other anti-cold tonic, it simply tasted better, so she had seen no need. There was no reason Pippa should have it to hand. Hecate furrowed her brow, trying to work out the puzzle. Her brain wasn’t working at full power though and she was starting to get sleepy, a side effect of the potion. 

“Bed now, I think.” Pippa pressed her hand against Hecate’s forehead again and shook her head. “You’ve definitely a fever and you need rest. Consider your classes canceled for the rest of the week.” 

Hecate sighed deeply, managing not to cough, and stood. “You’re the headmistress.” Hecate didn’t have the energy to fight back. Pippa took Hecate’s hand and transferred them to the hallway just outside of Hecate’s room. Hecate felt her head spin but she shook it off. 

“Well, get some rest.” Pippa stood with her hands clasped together and inclined her head toward Hecate’s door. 

Hecate nodded back. “I will.” She didn’t think her body would give her any other choice. Without further prompting, Hecate opened her door and stepped inside her room. She closed the door gently behind herself, blocking out the conundrum that was Pippa Pentangle. A few steps later, she was in her bedroom. With nothing else requiring her attention, she magicked her night clothes on and climbed into bed.

* * *

Hecate awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She drug herself out of bed and checked her watch. Several hours had passed since Pippa had sent Hecate off to rest. She pulled on her robe, belting it as she walked from her bedroom through to her sitting room. The knocking repeated itself just as Hecate got to the door. She opened it slowly, half expecting Pippa to be on the other side. She reigned in her disappointment when she saw it was simply one of the kitchen witches with a small cart full of food. Hecate stepped back and allowed the woman entry to her room. 

The woman rolled the cart over to Hecate’s table and started to unload it. Hecate could do little more than watch. She was feeling some better, likely thanks to the potion and the rest, but she was clearly still ill. She took a seat at the table and waited for the kitchen witch to finish. 

“Miss Pentangle sent this as well.” The kitchen witch placed a potion bottle on the table next to the food. It was more of the potion Pippa had foisted on her. “Said you’d know when to take it next. And she said to tell you Mister Moonstone woke up a bit ago and he’ll be fine.” 

Hecate nodded. “Thank you for the update and the food.” Hecate wiped a hand over her eyes and by the time she could see again, the kitchen witch was back at the door, letting herself out. 

Hecate turned to her soup and couldn’t stop her smile. It was exactly what she preferred when she was sick, the exact thing Pippa would bribe the cook to prepare whenever Hecate got sick at school. Hecate presumed she no longer had to resort to bribes. She smiled slightly at the thoughtfulness as she started to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are the best and I’m on tumblr @twtd11


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Cliotheproclaimer and CurlyWitch14. 
> 
> I thought that because this was originally just the second half of chapter 3, it wouldn’t be that long. I’m pretty sure it’s the longest chapter so far. Whoops?
> 
> I have to go back to work on Monday, so don’t expect to see the next update as quickly as the last two.

Still not feeling well, but certainly feeling better than she had the day before, Hecate finally drug herself out of bed late the next afternoon. She didn’t particularly like being confined to her rooms, and now that she was no longer quite so exhausted, her mind was starting to work again. Just how had Matthew come to be poisoned by nightshade when the only supply of it was safe behind a protective spell? She needed to discuss the situation with Pippa. Somehow, that didn’t seem as daunting a task as it had the morning before.

Hecate took herself off to the shower, and once she was presentable, went in search of Pippa. She knocked on Pippa’s office door, almost not expecting an answer. After all, Pippa had several classes to teach, but she heard a “come in,” nevertheless.

She slowly opened Pippa’s office door and gingerly stepped inside, unsure of her welcome, but when Pippa saw her, relief passed over Pippa’s face. 

“You’re feeling better then?” Pippa asked as she stood up. “Come have a seat with me.” She walked over to the set of armchairs and took a seat herself. Hecate joined her with a few steps and gratefully sank into the offered chair. 

“Better isn’t exactly the word I would use, but I am more possessed of my faculties than I was yesterday, and I can’t help but wonder just how Matthew came into contact with the nightshade.” 

Hecate looked to Pippa as if she might have an answer, and for the first time, she saw just how exhausted Pippa looked. It was nothing obvious, just a tightness around her eyes and something in the set of her shoulders. If Hecate hadn’t spent hours revising with Pippa late into the night, she doubted she would be able to tell. She wondered if anyone else at the school knew. Thinking about it, Pippa was doing both her and her deputy’s jobs and teaching multiple classes on top of that. She couldn’t be getting much sleep, and now she had to worry about one of her students ingesting a highly toxic plant on top of everything. It made Hecate ashamed of how little support she had given Pippa over the past two months. Not that Pippa had much reason to think she could count on Hecate. Not after Hecate abandoned her at the broomstick waterskiing display. 

Still, supporting Pippa was part of Hecate’s job and she had made a poor showing of it thus far. She would have to do better, and she could start now. 

“I was wondering the same thing.” Pippa rested her head on her hand. “I tested those protection spells myself and there’s no way a student could get past them.” 

Hecate frowned. “Perhaps we need to discuss this with Miss Grimsbane. She is the one in charge of the gardens, after all. Maybe she saw something.” 

“Yes, that’s an excellent idea.” Pippa got up and went to her desk, writing something out on her maglet, likely summoning Serena to Pippa’s office. 

A moment later, there was a tap on Pippa’s door, followed by Pippa’s invitation to come in. Serena stepped through the open doorway saying, “Miss Pentangle,” before she looked around.

“Hecate.” She looked visibly shocked to see Hecate in the room as well, but she quickly schooled her features. “I assume this is about Matthew getting into the nightshade?” 

Hecate and Pippa shared a look between them. Had Pippa made what happened to Matthew public? By the look on Pippa’s face, it seemed she hadn’t. 

“It’s only all over the school.” Serena shook her head. “Such a shame. Lucky for him that you two were both there to give him care so quickly.” 

“Yes. Lucky,” Hecate bit out. If Matthew had been alone in his room, things could have been much worse. 

“Well, I’ve been over and over that garden, and I can’t find where anything is amiss. It looks undisturbed and the protection spell is still in place.” Serena shrugged. “There’s no way to know what happened outside someone using the Mists of Time to go back and see.”

“And we don’t have access to any of the Mist,” Pippa sighed. 

Hecate thought she saw something in Serena’s posture change with Pippa’s pronouncement but she couldn’t be sure. Perhaps the woman was merely shifting her weight from one foot to the other. 

“You’re _certain_ nothing has been disturbed in the garden?” Hecate asked. She needed to be sure there wasn’t a simple explanation for the mystery. 

“Oh, absolutely. You’re welcome to come look,” Serena reassured them. Pippa waved her off. 

“I’ll come look in a bit.” Pippa nodded. Hecate didn’t know if she had the energy for the trip, but Pippa was more than capable of looking over everything. “If you’ve nothing else?” She looked at Serena expectantly. 

“No. No, nothing. Just… I’m glad to hear that Matthew is recovering.” 

“We all are.” Pippa smiled tightly and waved a hand to dismiss Serena. Serena took the gesture for what it was and transferred away.

Pippa walked back from the desk to her seat and collapsed into it. “Well, that didn’t help at all.” 

“Well, we know that neither Matthew, himself, nor any of the other students found their way into the nightshade. There would be evidence if they had. Which means it had to be one of the faculty members or someone on the staff who took the nightshade. Why they would have given it to Matthew…” Hecate shook her head. She was at a loss. She simply couldn’t figure out how or why the boy would have ingested the plant. 

Pippa rubbed her temple. “His parents are none too pleased with the school right now. I’d like to be able to tell them how it happened, but it seems like I’m not going to get my wish.” 

Hecate reached out and placed her hand on Pippa’s forearm, giving it a light squeeze. “It was likely just an unfortunate accident.” 

Pippa looked up at Hecate and placed her own hand over Hecate’s on her arm. “Thank you for saying that. I fear you may be wrong and something more sinister is going on, but as I have no proof whatsoever, we’ll simply… have to remain more vigilant.” She removed her hand and Hecate pulled away. 

“Of course.” Hecate nodded. “If you’ll excuse me, I find myself fatigued once again.” She stood and Pippa stood with her. 

“Certainly. I need to go out and inspect the garden myself anyway. You should get some rest.” 

“You’ll let me know if you find anything?” Hecate asked. 

“Of course.” Pippa walked Hecate to the door and opened it for her. Hecate was two steps through the door when Pippa called her name. Hecate turned. 

“For what it’s worth, I like it better when we’re not fighting.” Pippa blushed, as if uncertain of why she would say such a thing out loud.

Hecate nodded. “I do too. I shall… well, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She wanted to say she would be a better deputy, but there was no sense in making grand pronouncements. Either she would take action to be a better deputy, or she wouldn’t, and words had no effect on that. 

Pippa smiled slightly, but a genuine smile this time, before she turned and went back into her office. Hecate twisted her hand and suddenly she was standing in her room once again. She needed to get back into bed before she fell over again. She would think more about what happened to Matthew as she rested.

* * *

Hecate watched as the last of the students left the classroom from her afternoon class. She turned to start cleaning up her own workstation when she heard a tap on the door. 

“I do hope you haven’t forgotten your books again, Guinevere,” Hecate said without looking up. She was certain the girl would lose her head if it wasn’t attached. 

“I believe all my books are where they’re supposed to be.” Pippa stood in the doorway, hands clasped in front of her. 

Hecate looked up, still slightly wary of Pippa's presence. “Is there something I can help you with, Headmistress?” She pushed her shoulders back. 

“All of the supply requisition forms seem to have disappeared from my desk, and I’ve been reliably informed that future supply orders require your approval.” A smile tugged at Pippa’s lips and her eyes sparkled. Hecate tried not to blush. 

“I…” Hecate shuffled in place. She had thought to lighten Pippa’s load a bit, and purchase order requisitions didn’t require an understanding of Pippa’s ridiculous pedagogy for her to accomplish them. 

Pippa held up a hand to cut off Hecate’s explanation, which was good as Hecate found she didn’t really have an explanation she felt like sharing. 

“I simply wanted to say thank you. I find them to be an endless headache and I’m happy to cede the task to you. In fact, I was wondering if you might want to meet in my office a bit later to go through some of this administrative tedium.” 

“That would be,” Hecate swallowed, suddenly somehow nervous, “acceptable.” 

“Maybe right after dinner? If you’re not busy?” Pippa looked anxious and Hecate couldn’t fathom why. 

Hecate nodded. “After dinner.” 

“Excellent. Well, I have a chanting class to teach.” Pippa smiled again. 

“Of course.” Hecate nodded. With that, Pippa turned and left the potions classroom. Hecate watched her go.

* * *

It was a bit after dinner when Hecate presented herself at Pippa’s office door. She got an absent minded, “come in,” when she knocked, so she opened the office door and stepped inside. Pippa was buried behind a stack of paperwork that she clearly needed help with. 

“Oh good, you’re here.” Pippa sounded relieved. “Have a seat wherever.” She made an expansive motion with her arm. Hecate headed toward the chair that was pulled up to the side of Pippa’s desk, as that’s where the problem appeared the worst. She sat down stiffly as Pippa pushed a stack of paperwork in her direction.

“That all needs to be read and signed off on and I just haven’t had the time.” Pippa shook her head and closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. “Will you take care of it for me? It’s bound to be dreadfully boring.” 

“Certainly.” Hecate nodded brusquely and pulled the stack closer. It didn’t matter if it was boring, it needed to be done. She pulled out a pen and started to read. 

She was a third of the way down the stack when the proposal in front of her caused her to frown. She pulled out a piece of paper and started doing calculations. As she did them, her frown grew. Finally, she sat back in her seat. That caught Pippa’s attention. 

“Something wrong?” Pippa asked as she looked at Hecate in concern. 

“You’re going to have to reject this one.” Hecate handed the proposal to Pippa, who took it and started to read it over. 

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Pippa said. “It looks like the same proposal the department always presents.”

“It’s the contingencies. If even the slightest thing goes wrong, it’ll take a large portion of the entire school’s budget to correct it.” Hecate handed Pippa her page full of figures. 

Pippa took it and was in the process of looking it over when the glass in the windows started to rattle. Both Hecate and Pippa looked up and over at the windows. 

“What was that?” Pippa looked at Hecate as if Hecate might have the answer. 

“I haven’t the faintest.” Hecate looked at the windows in concern. “Perhaps a spell gone awry?”

“Perhaps.” Pippa gave the windows one last glance before she turned back to the proposal. 

Before she could focus, the windows rattled again, harder this time. This time, Pippa stood up as she looked at them. “I think we’d better find out what’s going on.” 

“I concur.” Hecate stood as well. 

Just as they got to their feet, the windows started rattling again, even harder, shaking in their frames. Then the whole building started to shake. There was a terrible crack, and Hecate threw herself over Pippa just as the windows all shattered. Glass rained down, crashing and breaking as it hit the floor. As quickly as it started, the noise stopped. Hecate looked up again and slowly removed herself from atop Pippa. 

They both stared at the now empty windows as a light breeze blew into the room and ruffled the papers. 

“What the hell just happened?” Pippa asked in a low voice as she took in the destruction around them. 

“I’ve no earthly idea.” Hecate shared Pippa’s shock. 

“The students!” Pippa’s eyes went wide. “Most of them are choir practice with Miss la Croix, but some are likely in their rooms.”

“I’ll check the East Wing; you check the West.” Hecate transferred away before Pippa could even respond.

* * *

It was hours later before Hecate found herself back in Pippa’s office, half slumped in one of the blessedly glass free armchairs. Upon quick inspection, they had found that all of the windows in the entire building had shattered at the same time. Luckily, no one had been seriously hurt, though one of the kitchen witches did get a nasty scratch on one of her arms. 

They had focused their efforts cleaning up and sealing the students’ rooms, but even with magic, the rest of the building was going to have to wait until morning to be cleaned up. Replacing the glass would be a bigger undertaking. Luckily, the classrooms and greenhouse had been spared. 

Pippa walked into her office, feet crunching over the broken glass, and didn’t seem to be surprised Hecate was there. She walked over to one of the other armchairs and sank down into it. 

“Cassandra is distraught.” Pippa placed her head on her hand. “It seems the glass started to rattle every time they tried to sing a b minor chord. She didn’ think anything of it at the time, but when they finally managed to sing it in tune, everything exploded. She’s blaming herself.” Pippa sighed. “I tried to tell her no simple chord could cause such destruction, but she didn’t seem to believe me. Hecate, what happened?” 

Hecate hoped it was a rhetorical question because she didn’t have an answer. “You’re right, of course. No chord could cause this. Not by itself. No, someone had to have cast a spell of some sort to make it happen.” 

Pippa buried her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes before dropping them and looking at Hecate again. “This is the third time a ‘freak accident’ has occurred this term. I have to believe these things are happening on purpose.” 

“I hate to agree with you, but I believe you are correct.” Hecate rubbed her forehead. “The question becomes, what are we going to do about it?” 

“I have to send the children home. If I can’t keep them safe, and clearly I can’t, they have no business being here.” Pippa looked defeated. 

“I would agree with you, but I have to wonder what happens next term? If you bring the students back and bad things start to happen again, you’ll be forced to close the school. As ridiculous as your institution is, you shouldn’t be subjected to this sort of campaign and you shouldn’t bow to whomever is attempting to force you to close.” Hecate was surprised to find that she meant her words. Pentangle’s might be a preposterous conceit, but Pippa did not deserve this sort of hostility. 

“So you think I keep the students here and what? Hope that the saboteur shows herself?” Pippa sounded incredulous. 

“That is exactly what I’m proposing.” Hecate looked at Pippa intently. “Now that we know someone is trying to close your school, we can be more vigilant and we can better protect the students.” 

Pippa looked at Hecate with concern in her eyes. “You realize that if this doesn’t work, I’ll probably have to close the school anyway.” 

“I’m aware.” Hecate reached for Pippa’s hand. Pippa reached back. They sat, holding hands, for a long moment before Pippa pulled away. 

“Alright. We’ll try it your way.” Pippa nodded in resolve. Hecate excused herself shortly after.

* * *

Hecate was sitting in her office marking essays when she heard a polite cough come from her mirror. She turned to look at it, finding Barbara Bloodsworth on the other end. 

“Councilor, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Hecate wondered why Barbara would be contacting her at Pentangle’s. She had thought turning down the Councilor’s request to spy for her meant that she had talked to her for the last time, or at least the last time for a while. 

“I just wanted to check in with you. See how things are going at Pentangle’s, that sort of thing.” Babara smiled a politicians smile at Hecate and it made Hecate uncomfortable. 

“Everything is fine.” Even without the recent thawing of her relationship with Pippa, Hecate wouldn’t have said things were anything other than fine. 

“Are you certain? I’ve been hearing some rather disturbing rumors coming out of Pentangle’s this term.” 

“Some minor mishaps, perhaps, but nothing particularly out of the ordinary.” It wasn’t _exactly_ a lie, just an understatement. 

Barbara looked at her skeptically. “You’re certain there’s nothing happening there that might concern the Council?”

“I’m sure the Council has far more important things to concern itself with than one small school,” Hecate said firmly. Things generally worked better when the Council wasn’t involved anyway. 

“Alright. I’ve not much time, so I’ll say goodbye. Do let me know if anything untoward happens, though.” 

Hecate nodded in assent. She would do no such thing, but there was no sense in telling the Councilor that. With that, her mirror returned to normal and seeing the time, Hecate stood. Dinner was soon. She had best be off.

* * *

“Hold this ladder for me, will you?” Pippa turned to Hecate, looking at her expectantly. Hecate grumbled, but did as she was bid. 

“Are you sure you should be climbing up there?” Hecate asked as Pippa climbed further up the ladder. 

“How else am I supposed to see the full extent of the damage?” They were in the dining room a few days after the windows had first broken. It was one of the first rooms to be outfitted with new glass, which was being delivered later that day. Tradesmen had already come to measure everything and gone again, but for some reason, Pippa wanted up on a ladder to see things for herself. Hecate couldn’t fathom what Pippa might hope to see that she hadn’t already seen, but she dutifully held the ladder as Pippa climbed it. 

“Oh, Hecate,” Pippa despaired from the top of the ladder. “Even with magic, fixing this is going to take ages.” Pippa’s shoulders slumped. “How did this happen?” 

It was a question they had both asked each other repeatedly ever since it had happened, but neither of them had a good answer. Who would hate Pentangle’s so much to go to such trouble? 

“We’ll find out.” Hecate sighed in relief as Pippa started back down the ladder. “I promise you, Pippa, we will find out.” 

“Thank you, Heca—“ Just as she was about to turn to step off of the ladder, Pippa’s foot slipped and she fell backwards. Hecate instinctively caught her. Chest to chest, she wrapped Pippa up in her arms. 

“Oh!” Pippa exclaimed from somewhere around Hecate’s collarbone. Hecate steadied Pippa with her hands on Pippa’s ribs. 

“Are you alright?” Hecate looked down at Pippa. 

“Oh, I’m fine. Just…” Pippa looked up at Hecate and their eyes caught. Hecate suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her heart started racing in her chest and her hands felt clammy. Pippa licked her lips and brushed a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. Her other hand rested on the top of Hecate’s chest. “Just clumsy today, I guess.” 

“Ah.” It was the best Hecate could come up with. Pippa rubbed her thumb over Hecate’s collarbone before she seemed to realize what she was doing and pulled her hand away as if she had been scalded. 

“Sorry.” Pippa finally looked away and took a step back. “Thank you for catching me.” She wrung her hands together. “I should really go get ready for the glaziers to get here.” 

Before Hecate could respond, Pippa left the room. 

Hecate took a deep breath as she watched Pippa go. When had that happened? When had she managed to fall for Pippa _again_? A schoolgirl crush was one thing, but she was no longer a schoolgirl. Neither was Pippa. Somehow, that didn’t dissuade her. And Pippa’s reaction to being in her arms was… curious. Was it possible that Pippa felt the same way? Now that they weren’t fighting constantly, was there space for something new to develop? Hecate wanted to find out.

* * *

“If I was a betting person, I’d say it was Miss Hardbroom.” Hecate stopped in her tracks after hearing her name. She knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but her curiosity got the better of her.

“Why would you say that?.” Hecate recognized Cassandra’s voice.

“I mean, think about it. There’s no way all of these things are coincidences. Someone has something out for the school and Miss Hardbroom is the obvious suspect. For one, she hates the school and everything it stands for. I mean, think about it: the one _boy_ in her class is the one to get poisoned. You’re signing a _modern_ chant in choir when all of the windows shatter. Mark my words, when they find out who has been sabotaging the school, it’ll be her.” 

Hecate blinked and stopped breathing. Did people really think she would stoop to hurting a _child_? That she had some sort of vendetta against the school? 

She swallowed down her indignation and turned on her heel. She could find a different direction to walk that night.

* * *

Hecate stepped into the greenhouse hoping that the warm, moist air would help calm her down. The conversation she had overheard was still bothering her. She took a deep breath, letting the fragrance of the flowers seep into her lungs. She walked from the entrance down the central walkway, measuring each step as she took it. The light was on in the small potting room in the back of the greenhouse and Hecate approached it cautiously. Who else would be in the greenhouse at this time of night? 

The door was ajar, but she pushed it the rest of the way open. There, sitting on a low stool next to the potting bench, was Pippa. She had tears in the corners of her eyes, but she didn’t look surprised to see Hecate. 

“It’s the only part of my school that’s still in one piece, you know?” She sniffed lightly and wiped her tears away. 

“I suppose it is.” Hecate found the second stool and sat down next to Pippa. She reached for Pippa’s hand. “I know I haven’t explicitly said so, but I am terribly sorry about what happened.” 

Pippa squeezed her fingers. “I know you are.” She sniffed delicately and withdrew her hand, using it to brush the hair back from her face. “And I know everything will be put to rights soon, but right now… Right now, I just needed to see something that was still how it’s supposed to be.” She looked up and around the room, then back at Hecate. 

“I understand.” Hecate nodded. She often wanted nothing so much as to be able to see Cackle’s again, and she knew it was in one piece, awaiting her return. How must it feel to have one’s life work literally come shattering down around you? 

“Oh, Hecate,” Pippa sighed deeply. “Let’s talk about something else. Wallowing won’t help anything.” 

“What would you care to talk about?” Hecate asked plainly.

“I don’t have a clue.” Pippa chuckled sadly. “I suppose the weather’s no good. And something tells me you haven’t read the latest edition of The Witching Times.” 

Hecate smiled. “No, I certainly have not.” She sniffed. The Witching Times was only barely a step above a gossip magazine.

“Well, then how ever will you know the current trend in Samhain decorations?” 

“Somehow, I believe I will survive without that knowledge,” Hecate answered dryly. “Why don’t we walk through the greenhouse? We can see the night blooming brugmansia.” 

“Alright.” Pippa stood up and offered Hecate a hand, which Hecate took. Somehow, though they were both now standing, Pippa didn’t let go, so they walked hand in had through the greenhouse. Bluish moonlight filtered in through the glass and reflected off of all of the green plants, making it seem almost as if they were underwater.

Hecate felt like perhaps she _was_ underwater, swimming down the aisles with Pippa by her side. Her revelation from a few days past settled in her chest as she looked over at Pippa. Yes, she couldn’t deny it. She was attracted to Pippa. Oh, she was sure there were still topics on which they could have strenuous disagreements, but she couldn’t imagine going back to the cold shoulder she had given Pippa when she had first arrived at Pentangle’s. 

After wandering around for a bit, Hecate stopped them under the brugmansia tree, the pendulous, conical flowers open above their heads. Pippa looked up at them, closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, before opening them and looking at Hecate. She squeezed Hecate’s hand. Hecate squeezed back. 

Suddenly, Hecate couldn’t take it anymore. She wouldn’t spend years pining over Pippa as she had when they were teenagers. She was an adult now and she went after what she wanted. 

With her free hand, Hecate cupped the side of Pippa’s face, and looking directly into Pippa’s brown eyes, leaned in and pressed their lips together in the softest, most gentle kiss she could manage. 

Pippa sighed and melted into Hecate’s embrace, kissing her back in just the same way, soft and gentle. 

They continued kissing almost chastely for a long minute before Hecate pulled away. 

“Was that al—“

“Oy, who’s in here?” The voice cut through the subdued atmosphere as torchlight cut down the walkway. 

Pippa quickly pulled herself from Hecate’s arms. “Just me and Miss Hardbroom.” Pippa called back as Serena came around a corner and into view. 

“Oh, sorry, Miss Pentangle. I thought maybe I’d found some stray students out past lights out. With everything that’s been going on, you can’t be too safe,” Serena said. 

“No. Of course not.” Pippa’s smile looked weak. “Miss Hardbroom and I were just on a bit of a walk, but it has gotten rather late, hasn’t it?” She looked apologetically back at Hecate.

“We should be getting back,” Hecate said. “We’re sorry if we distubed you.” 

“It was no bother.” Serena looked between them. “Like I said, I just want to make sure everyone’s staying safe.” 

“Of course.” Pippa nodded. “If you’ll excuse me?” Pippa barely waited for Serena to nod before she transferred away.

“I’ll be going as well,” Hecate said. 

Serena frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything. With a nod, Hecate transferred away too. 

As her bedroom coalesced around her, Hecate wondered what would have happed if Serena hadn’t chosen to check the greenhouse. Would she and Pippa have continued kissing? Would they have talked about it? Hecate tried not to let ‘what if’s overtake her mind. What she really needed to do was talk to Pippa. But that would have to wait until the next day. For now, it was time to go to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are the best and I’m on tumblr @twtd11


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bear and I’m pretty sure Cliotheproclaimer ghost wrote most of it.

After hours of tossing and turning in her bed, Hecate was finally forced to admit that the odds of her getting a wink of sleep were near negligible. She buried her face in her pillow and groaned. What did it mean? And why had Pippa disappeared so suddenly? Why hadn’t Hecate gone and talked to her immediately after she left the greenhouse? She looked toward the curtained windows and saw a bit of light coming in from between the panels. If it was light out, she could get up. She didn’t like being up so early, the day would feel long without her usual amount of sleep, but she couldn’t lie in bed any longer. 

Hecate dragged herself out of bed and down the hall to the shower. She thought she might run into Pippa again, but the other woman was nowhere in sight. Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Hecate went back to her room and got dressed. She magicked up a cup of tea from the kitchens, it was too early to go to breakfast, and headed outside where she could watch the sunrise. Maybe she could talk to Pippa after breakfast.

* * *

Once she was outside, Hecate found an eastward facing chair to sit in and made herself comfortable. There couldn’t possibly be any students about to see her less than rigid posture. Still, when she saw a figure approaching from a distance, she sat back up again. The figure slowly coalesced into someone familiar: Serena. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company so early in the morning?” Serena asked as she came to a stop at Hecate’s side. 

Hecate looked up at her. “I found I couldn’t sleep. I thought I might enjoy the sunrise. Are you always up this early?”

“Every day. I sleep in on Sundays sometimes.” Serena said the last part as if she was imparting a secret. 

“Ah.” Hecate couldn’t think of what else to say. As a rule, she wasn’t particularly interested in small talk. So early in the morning, she definitely wasn’t interested. 

Serena gestured toward one of the adjoining chairs. “Do you mind if I sit?”

“If you like.” Hecate looked back toward the sunrise. Silence settled between them, but it wasn’t long before Serena started speaking again. 

“I thought you didn’t much like the Headmistress.” It was a non sequitur, and Hecate raised an eyebrow. What did Serena care if she got along with Pippa?

“It seems we have reached a detente.” It was the most delicate way Hecate could think to put it. Certainly better than the alternative: admitting to a rekindling of a childhood crush. 

“Ah.” Serena looked away, but Hecate felt a cooling in the air between them. She wondered what that meant. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have some plants to attend to.”

“Of course.” Hecate nodded her dismissal. With that, Serena departed, walking off toward the herb garden. The sun was up, but Hecate still had a bit of tea left. She sipped it as she pondered Serena’s odd mood.

* * *

Hecate took a seat in the staff room just as Pippa walked in the door. Pippa hadn’t been at breakfast that morning, a thing that the gossip assured her had happened only once before in the short history of Pentangle’s, and then only because Pippa had been deathly ill. It seemed Pippa _never_ missed breakfast. It left Hecate perplexed. Pippa had been just fine when they had parted the night before and as she approached the front of the room, she looked fine now as well. 

Pippa clapped her hands lightly to get the attention of the chattering group and it worked. Everyone fell silent and looked to Pippa. 

“I’m sure no one is particularly surprised that I’ve called a meeting today, what with everything that’s been going on recently,” she began. “Miss Hardbroom being locked in her classroom, poor Matthew, and then the incident with the windows. I want everyone to know that I don’t think these problems are a fluke or some sort of bad luck that has befallen the school. It is far more disturbing. I think someone is trying to sabotage us.” 

The room broke out in murmuring as soon as Pippa made her pronouncement. People started to shift restlessly in their seats, looking at their neighbors suspiciously. Quite a few looks were thrown Hecate’s way. Hecate’s feelings about the school were well known amongst the faculty and it seemed none of them were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. 

“I seriously considered sending all of the students home for the term, but I’ve decided that if I follow the course of action, the saboteur will likely vanish either to never be caught or to simply return next term. I know no one here wants to see Pentangle’s closed permanently and that is not an outcome I’m prepared to accept.

“I won’t require anyone who doesn’t want to stay to remain at the school, but I do hope everyone will stay. If you do choose to stay, know that we’ll all have to remain extra vigilant until the saboteur is caught. I don’t want anything to happen to the children. Their safety is our first priority.” Pippa ended her speech with a little nod. 

“Now, if anyone has any questions you may ask them now or you may come to me privately. I’m certain we can muddle through some answers together.” Pippa clasped her hands in front of herself as Hecate looked around the room. It didn’t look like Pippa was going to get any questions, but more than one person met Hecate’s gaze with hostility in their own. It seemed Cassandra’s friend wasn’t the only person among the faculty to take a dim view of her. 

“Right.” Pippa nodded again. “I’m sure you’ve all got classes to attend to.” She clapped her hands in dismissal. Hecate tried to make her way to the front of the room, but other members of the faculty got in her way and before she could get there, Pippa had already left. She sighed in frustration. 

“Hecate.” Hecate turned to see Cassandra reaching out for her elbow to get her attention. Hecate pulled away as if scalded. The words Cassandra’s friend had said about her came to the forefront of Hecate’s mind again. Cassandra hadn’t even tried to sand up for her. 

“I’ve nothing to say to you.” Hecate said lowly. She didn’t need everyone in the room overhearing, but it was a small room. 

Cassandra looked at her confused. “Have I done something?” 

Hecate pursed her lips. “Have a nice day, Miss la Croix.” Hecate said before she dramatically transferred herself away from Cassandra’s gossip. 

* * *

Hecate tried to find Pippa again before her class started, hovering briefly outside Pippa’s office door in hopes that she might return before Hecate had to leave, but she had no luck. So she transferred over to the classroom building, appearing in the middle of the potions lab just before class was supposed to begin. She did her best not to fidget through the lesson. She was certain none of the students suspected anything, but an adult might have noticed and that made Hecate irritable. Still, when Wendy approached her after class, Hecate did her best to reign in her impulse to dismiss the child out of hand. They scheduled a time for Wendy to practice later in the day and then Hecate let her leave for lunch.

As soon as Wendy was out of the potions classroom, Hecate leaned against the table at the front of the room and rubbed her forehead with steepled fingers. This was ridiculous. She needed to speak with Pippa. If only she could get Pippa alone.

* * *

Hecate turned the corner toward the corridor which housed her set of rooms, only to be brought up short by Serena coming around the corner at the same time. They narrowly avoided bumping into each other. 

“Sorry, Hecate, didn’t see you there.” Serena held out her hands as if to steady Hecate, though Hecate was standing firmly on her feet. 

“No matter. Were you looking for someone?” Hecate looked around Serena and down the hallway. As far as she knew, Serena didn’t live in the building, though Hecate wasn’t sure exactly where she _did_ live. In any event, there was no reason for her to be in the teachers’ wing. 

“Yes!” Serena said a bit too loudly. “I was looking for you, actually.”

“Me?” Hecate couldn’t fathom what Serena would need her for. 

“I’ve been growing a new strain of Astragalus and I thought, since you wrote that article about them, you might want to...inspect them?” Serena looked at Hecate hopefully and Hecate couldn’t help but be perplexed. Couldn’t Serena have come to her office for that? Why would she seek her out in her rooms? Still, she was interested in the stregething properties of the Astragalus. 

“I suppose I have some time before dinner to come look at them. Shall we?” 

“Oh.” Serena looked around as if hunting for some sort of answer. “Not now. I’ve actually got something to do now. I just thought, you know, for the future. Maybe in a day or two.” 

Hecate gave Serena a hard look. She was behaving oddly, but Hecate didn’t have a reason to call her out on it. “That sounds...acceptable.” 

“Great! Excellent! I’ll come find you when I’m free, okay?”

Hecate raised an eyebrow, but nodded her assent. 

“Perfect. I’ll see you later. Have a good night.” With that, Serena pushed past Hecate and down the stairs.

* * *

Hecate looked over Wendy Willow’s shoulder as she mixed the ingredients in her cauldron. Hecate knew her presence was making the girl nervous, but an exam would probably be just a nerve racking. Better to get used to the feeling than be taken by surprise when it actually mattered. 

“Mmm,” she intoned as Wendy added another ingredient. The girl’s hands had finally stopped shaking, which Hecate took as a good sign. If only Pippa had let her keep the girl for detention, she wouldn’t be so far behind her peers. 

The potion in Wendy’s cauldron turned yellow and a puff of smoke exploded from inside, briefly obscuring Hecate’s vision. It was the sign the potion was brewed correctly. If anything had been done incorrectly, there wouldn’t have been any smoke. Hecate nodded in satisfaction and made a noise that let Wendy know that she wasn’t displeased. 

“Let’s move on to the advanced laughter potion.” Hecate replaced Wendy’s used cauldron with an empty one. “Go get the ingredients.” 

“Yes, Miss Hardbroom.” Wendy headed toward the storeroom. Just as she stepped inside, Hecate heard a sound from the doorway. She looked up, only to meet Pippa’s eyes. Pippa stood there and looked like she just got caught doing something she shouldn’t have. Why she would look that way, Hecate wasn’t sure. Before she could call out or take a step forward, Pippa lifted a hand and transferred away. Now, Hecate was determined to speak with Pippa and she would do it that night, even if she had to find Pippa in her rooms to do it.

* * *

After checking Pippa’s office, which was dark, Hecate turned and marched up the stairs and down the hall until she was standing outside of Pippa’s doorway. She raised her hand and knocked sharply, wondering if Pippa would even answer her door. If she didn’t, Hecate didn’t know what other options she would have. Pippa couldn’t avoid her forever, but as their early interactions had proven, she could avoid her for a very long time. Hecate waited another moment and rapped again. She heard footsteps and then the door opened. 

“Hecate.” Pippa sounded surprised, her eyes were wide and she clung to the door. “I’m glad you came by. I wanted to talk to you. You should come in.” She stepped back to allow Hecate into her room. 

Hecate stepped inside and tried to reign in her curiosity. Once, she knew what Pippa’s private spaces looked like. Now, she found she wanted to know again, but gawking about would be unseemly. Still, she couldn’t help but notice how much more lived in Pippa space was than her own. Pippa’s things, a knit throw, abstract paintings of what Hecate assumed to be flowers, some small knickknacks, all exuded Pippa’s personality, though there was less bright pink than Hecate expected. Instead, the room was dominated by creams and pastels. It felt calming, but Hecate in no way felt calm. 

Pippa indicated Hecate should sit on her couch, which Hecate did. Pippa stood for a minute between the couch and a chair, and Hecate wondered at her indecision. Finally, Pippa sat at the far end of the couch and faced Hecate. 

Hecate was about to speak when Pippa held up a hand to forestall her. Hecate looked at Pippa curiously. 

“I just… I wanted to say that I’m sorry. Last night never should have happened,” Pippa said emphatically. “It was unprofessional. You’re my subordinate and I never should have put you in that position.” 

“Your sub— Have you taken leave of your senses?” Hecate sputtered in indignation. Did Pippa really think that she had taken advantage of Hecate somehow? That the kiss hadn’t been at Hecate’s instigation. “What sort of modern nonsense is this?”

“It isn’t nonsense.” Pippa was vehement. “It’s sexual harassment. I simply can’t go around kissing people I employ.” 

Hecate gritted her teeth. “I am _not_ , nor will I ever _be_ your employee.” 

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t.” Hecate sat up straighter. “And I won’t let us dance around this like we did when we were in school. Neither of us is sixteen anymore and we should _not_ act like we are.”

Pippa looked indignant. “Now you’re just rewriting history, Hecate. You’re the one who left. Not me. You. You’re the one who disappeared right before the broomstick waterskiing display.” 

“Well, what was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to _think_? You’d seem interested one minute and then seem like you wanted to be nothing more than friends the next. I never knew where I stood.”

“I was a teenager and I was confused. What would you have had me do?” Pippa yelled.

“You could have _told me_ what you were thinking or feeling or anything at all. You could have been honest with me. You could be honest with me now instead of hiding behind some regulation I’ve never even heard of.” 

“You want the truth then?” Pippa looked at Hecate intently. “Fine. You are the most stubborn, infuriating woman I have ever met. You are…” she clenched her fists in frustration. “You are the most… You come in here and insult me and my school, my life’s work. Sulking around as if you couldn’t imagine a worse fate than to be stuck here for the term. And then suddenly you’re being helpful and supportive and what am _I_ supposed to think? Do you really want to talk about mixed messages?”

“You’re yelling at me because I tried to make your job less taxing?” Hecate said incredulously. 

“No, I’m yelling at you because… because…” Without finishing her thought, Pippa surged forward and furiously pressed her lips to Hecate’s. 

Barely having time to figure out what was happening, Hecate returned the kiss just as enthusiastically. She wrapped her arms around Pippa’s waist simply trying to hang on. Before she could settle into the kiss, Pippa pressed forward again, straddling Hecate’s lap as she cupped Hecate’s face. The kiss slowly settled into something less frantic as Pippa kissed Hecate more deeply. Their tongues brushed together and Hecate shivered. 

“Goddess, why do your dresses have such high necks?” Pippa murmured as she started to kiss her way down the column of Hecate’s throat. Hecate tightened her grip on Pippa as each kiss made her breath catch. When she got to the notch in Hecate’s collarbone, she pulled away only to look down at Hecate with an intense focus. This time it was Hecate’s turn to lean up and catch Pippa’s kiss swollen lips. Pippa whimpered and held onto Hecate’s shoulders and Hecate finally started to move her hands up and down Pippa’s sides. For all Pippa’s complaints, Pippa’s dress was nearly as restrictive as Hecate’s. She moved her hands over the swell of Pippa’s hips and down to the outside of her thighs. Just as her hands finally met skin, there was a great crash from Pippa’s bedroom. 

Hecate and Pippa jerked apart at the noise. They stared at each other for a long moment. 

“What…?” Pippa climbed off of Hecate’s lap and headed toward her bedroom door. Hecate was on her heels. They shared a look as Pippa pushed open her bedroom door. Through the darkness, Pippa gasped at what she saw. There, in the middle of her bed, was the chandelier that normally lit the room. With a wave of her hand to light the rest of the lamps in the room, Pippa took in the damage. The bed’s frame was smashed and the mattress ripped to pieces. 

Pippa made a noise of alarm as she covered her mouth with her fist. Hecate took a deep breath in shock. 

“Hecate. What…?” Pippa looked to Hecate. Hecate could only stare at the destroyed room. 

“I don’t know.”

“There’s no way it fell on accident, did it?” Pippa’s breathing picked up as she started to panic. 

Hecate placed a hand on Pippa’s back and rubbed it soothingly. When that didn’t seem to be working, she pulled Pippa into her arms, and away from the scene in front of them. 

“No. I very much doubt it was an accident.” Hecate lifted one hand and shot a bolt of magic at the bed, hoping to send it into vanishment, but nothing happened. She tried again to the same result. She frowned. “This isn’t working.” 

Slightly calmer, Pippa turned to survey the damage once again, still clinging to Hecate. 

“What do we do?” she asked. 

“I think, for tonight, we leave it as it is. Maybe in the morning, we’ll be able to examine it further and see what sort of spell did this. Is there a guest room you can stay in?” Hecate kissed Pippa’s temple. 

“You’re in our only guest room,” Pippa said absently. 

“Then you’ll stay with me. You don’t need to be alone right now.” 

Without putting up any resistance, Pippa nodded against Hecate’s shoulder. 

“Come. Let’s go to my room then. This can wait.” Hecate ushered Pippa from the room and across the hall. It wasn’t how Hecate had expected the night to end, but then, when she had first knocked on Pippa’s door, she hadn’t known what to expect. Hecate opened her door and led Pippa inside. They would go to bed and hopefully they would be able to get some sleep, though Hecate didn’t count on it. Still, it was the best possible outcome after the night’s events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are wonderful and I’m on Tumblr @twtd11


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliotheproclaimer had to kick my ass to get me to write this chapter and it went through several iterations before it finally took shape. Consequently, there's probably going to be eight chapters instead of seven. I know you're all heartbroken. 
> 
> And a thank you to RogueBeachcomber who was an excellent cheerleader when it felt like I was never going to get this chapter finished.

Hecate awoke to a weight draped over her left side, arm pinned beneath it. It took her less than a second to remember the events of the night before: the argument, the kiss, the crash. Pippa, still in shock, had curled up on the other side of the bed and Hecate hadn’t been sure how to comfort her. They had, after all, only recently been on speaking terms. In her sleep, however, it seemed Pippa had no compunctions about seeking Hecate out for comfort. 

Hecate was loathed to disturb her. She reached for her watch on the bedside table and checked the time. They didn’t have to be up yet. Pippa could rest a bit longer. 

But Hecate’s shifting around was enough to start to wake Pippa up and she stirred against Hecate’s side. She stretched lazily and yawned, curling closer to Hecate as she did so. She splayed her hand out on Hecate’s stomach and Hecate breathed into it, watching it rise and fall under the covers. Pippa’s hand was warm and gentle. 

“Good morning,” Hecate said softly.

“I thought you didn’t like mornings,” Pippa replied, her eyes slowly opening. 

“I don’t, as a rule, yet I’m finding this one to be less detestable than normal.” Hecate brushed some of Pippa’s now loose hair back from her face. 

“Mmm.” Pippa wriggled even closer, then she sighed deeply. “I’m not ready to think about last night yet. I know I should. I know I should get up and go back over there and try to figure out what happened, but I can’t. Just let me lie here and feel safe for a bit longer, alright?” 

“Alright,” Hecate shifted under Pippa’s weight. She thought about the night before, about finally getting to kiss Pippa, about nearly getting to be with her, and she squirmed slightly. Pippa must have picked up on it though because Hecate could feel the smile that spread over Pippa’s face against her shoulder. 

“Thinking of something interesting?” Pippa said and rubbed her hand against Hecate’s stomach. Hecate shuddered under Pippa’s touch. 

“I haven’t any idea what you might be talking about.” Hecate only just managed to keep her voice steady. 

With a fluid movement, Pippa rolled to straddle Hecate’s hips, the blankets falling down to bunch around her thighs. “Are you certain about that?” 

Hecate tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. Pippa leaned down until their lips were centimeters apart. “Is this okay?” 

At Hecate’s brief nod, Pippa brought their lips together, kissing Hecate deeply. Hecate returned the kiss, bringing her hands to Pippa’s hips. She squeezed them tightly when she felt Pippa’s breasts brush against her own. She could feel Pippa’s body heat, feel her weight, and she craved more. She wanted to pull Pippa against her, under her, until Pippa was the only thing she could think about.

* * *

Hecate stepped into the dining hall bit after breakfast started. She was surprised not to see Pippa already sitting at the head table, convinced somehow that the other woman would manage to make it on time despite the fact that they parted only moments prior. Hecate took her usual seat though she ignored Cassandra's pleading look. If Cassandra thought she had anything at all to do with the school's misfortunes, then Hecate wanted nothing to do with her.

"That's twice this term Miss Pentangle hasn't been at breakfast," Hecate overheard from her other side just a Pippa appeared at the door to the dining hall. She didn't look at all like she was walking in late, keeping her head high and her steps even. She looked at Hecate briefly and Hecate felt herself flush under the scrutiny before she averted her eyes back to her breakfast. They hadn't discussed anything about what was happening between them, but Hecate assumed Pippa wouldn't want anyone to know what was going on. It shouldn't be difficult, Hecate didn't want anyone involved in her private life, but her desire to reach out for Pippa was unexpected. 

Hecate took a bite of her food and tried to ignore Pippa's presence as Pippa engaged the people around her in light conversation. If she got through breakfast, everything would be fine. She would go to her class and her students would distract her from this ridiculous infatuation.

* * *

If Hecate thought a bit of time and space would clear her head, she was proved entirely wrong when Pippa appeared in the doorway to her classroom just as she was dismissing her students. 

"May I speak to you alone for a moment, Miss Hardbroom?" Pippa looked at the children filing past her hoping to forestall any of the usual chatter that occurred whenever she interacted with the students. 

"Of course." Hecate shooed the children out a bit more urgently than she had been previously. Once they were all gone, she looked at Pippa expectantly. "How can I help you, Miss Pentangle?" 

Pippa looked around furtively, checking to make sure they were alone before she grabbed Hecate's hand and pulled her into the supply closet. 

"Pippa, what–" Pippa's lips were pressed against her own before Hecate could finish her sentence. Hecate automatically wrapped her arms around Pippa's waist and pulled her closer as she opened her mouth under Pippa's. She swept her hands up Pippa's ribs and then back down to her hips, holding on firmly as she pulled out of the kiss. 

"This is incredibly inappropriate," Hecate whispered before she kissed Pippa again.

Pippa moved to kiss Hecate's neck before saying, "I don't care. Do you?" 

Hecate tried to suck in a deep breath but Pippa nipped at her throat before she could inhale all the way. "Not as such." She pushed Pippa back against the door, trapping Pippa between its hard surface and her body. Pippa arched forward against Hecate, pressing against her body as she moaned. 

"We shouldn't get carried away," Hecate said, though that was exactly what she wanted to do. They'd run out of time for things to progress too far that morning, but she was determined that they would not have sex for the first time in the supply closet. "You have a class to teach soon, don't you?" 

Pippa made an unhappy noise then sighed. "This is more fun than teaching." 

"I've already made you late for breakfast. I won't be the cause of your tardiness to chanting." Hecate nuzzled against Pippa's cheek. Pippa placed one last kiss on Hecate's neck before she pushed Hecate away. Hecate took a step back and finally managed to catch her breath. 

"I did come here for a legitimate purpose." Pippa wrung her hands together. "I've been thinking about it all day, and I believe I have to send the students home. If someone is willing to break into my rooms and perform a spell that might have seriously injured me, there's no telling what they'll do next. I don't expect any pushback from the staff, but I'd like your support anyway."

Hecate considered Pippa seriously. "You have it."

"Good." Pippa looked worried, but Hecate could understand that worry. "Good."

Hecate looked at the watch around her neck and checked the time. "You should go," she said before she leaned in and kissed Pippa lightly. Pippa sank into the kiss for a moment before she ended it. With a weak smile, she waved her hand and transferred away. Hecate opened the door to the supply closet and reentered her classroom. She needed to see to a few things before she could head back to her office for the rest of the day.

* * *

It wasn't a surprise when a few hours later, Pippa called a staff meeting. Hecate stood on one side of the room, waiting in anticipation of what Pippa might have to say, though she already knew what the conversation was going to be about. 

Pippa clapped her hands lightly and the room came to order. She rubbed her forehead before starting to speak. "Hello, everyone." There was a brief murmur from the assembled teachers before silence fell again. "For those that don't know, someone snuck into my rooms last night and cast a spell that made the chandelier above my bed fall. I'm sure I would have been seriously injured if I had been in bed at the time. I've no idea if that was the culprit's aim, or if it was merely intended to frighten me, but I do know that I can't have the children around when there's such a high probability of harm coming to them. So, as of tomorrow, all classes are canceled. I'll be in touch with all of the parents to tell them that we'll be operating remotely for the rest of the term." 

The room burst into conversation with everyone trying to speak at once. At Cackle's, Hecate knew one look from her would have quieted the room again. At Pentangle's, she was fairly certain it would have no effect at all. But Pippa raised her hands and the room calmed. 

"I know this isn't ideal, but it's what we're going to have to do. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to the children." 

"D'you have any idea who might be behind these attacks?" Cassandra asked, sounding worried. 

"It's got to be someone new, hasn't it?" Camilla Quinn responded. She taught magical history and Hecate had barely spoken to her all term. Now, Camilla was pointedly looking at Hecate.

"I will not have—" Hecate started before Pippa shot her a pointed look. Hecate went silent in deference. 

"That's enough." Pippa cut off any remaining conversation on the subject. "I'm certain that _no one_ in this room would do anything to harm any child within these walls, and I won't have any more speculation on the subject." 

A few more people looked over at Hecate, but no one defied Pippa. 

"Good." Pippa nodded. "Now, I've nothing else to say tonight. Everyone should go back to their regular routines." 

The energy seemed to leak out of the room at Pippa's direction, though Hecate knew the hostility wouldn't be so easily dismissed. She stayed behind as all of the other teachers left until she and Pippa were the only people still in the room. 

"Have you had a chance to clean up your bedroom yet?" Hecate asked. 

"No, not yet." Pippa looked down at her hands before she looked back at Hecate. "I was hoping, that is, if you don't mind…" 

"You're welcome to spend the…" Hecate blushed. They both knew what was likely to happen if they shared a bed that night. Still, she wouldn't rescind her offer of hospitality. 

Pippa reached out and caught Hecate's fingers with her own giving them a quick squeeze. 

"Would you care to take a walk?" Hecate asked. 

Pippa smiled gently. "That would be lovely." She squeezed Hecate's fingers again. "Go on then." She nodded and Hecate took it as permission to transfer them outside. 

They reappeared just on the edge of the path that led down the hill to the lake. Pippa took Hecate's hand in her own as they started off. They walked in silence for a bit, neither needing to say anything. After a bit, they reached a bower made of trellised plants. The moonlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the walkway as the branches rustled around them. Pippa pulled them to a stop, and at Hecate's look of surprise, smiled and pulled her down into a kiss. 

Hecate returned the kiss, resting her hands on Pippa's waist. Eventually, Pippa pulled away again. 

"I feel like I've been waiting forever to do that." Pippa looked up at Hecate and pressed their lips together briefly. 

"I've been waiting too, though I admit to having given up on the possibility until very recently." Hecate smiled just a bit. She kissed Pippa again, holding her close as she did so. They kissed lazily, as if they had all the time in the world, forgetting for a while the turmoil the school was in. 

But Hecate heard the unnatural rustle of leaves nearby and quickly pulled away from Pippa, shielding Pippa with her body lest there be any prying eyes. She looked over her shoulder and found Serena looking at them with an expression Hecate couldn't read. 

"Miss Grimsbane, you're out a bit late," Hecate snapped. She knew she should be more diplomatic, but she wasn't. 

"I could say the same of you, Miss Hardbroom," Serena replied carefully. "Headmistress." She nodded in acknowledgment of Pippa. 

"You're right, of course, Serena," Pippa said with as charming a smile as she possessed on her face. "We should be getting back up to the house, don't you think, Hecate?"

Hecate relaxed a bit when she felt Pippa's hand brush her lower back. "Yes, quite." 

"Have a good night, Serena," Pippa said. 

"You too." Serena nodded, but her face was still closed off. 

"Hecate, if you don't mind?" Pippa looked to Hecate and nodded. Hecate returned the nod and transferred them away. 

They reappeared in Hecate's sitting room seconds later. Pippa sighed and let all of the tension go from her body as she sank down into one of the chairs. "I'm ready for this day to be over," she said as she rested back against the chair. "I know… That is…" A blush colored Pippa's cheeks. "Might we just go to bed and sleep?"

"Of course." Hecate held a hand out to Pippa to help her up. "Going to sleep is a perfectly acceptable request." 

Pippa nodded as she stood. Once she was on her feet, she leaned in and placing a chaste kiss on Hecate's lips. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome." Hecate led Pippa back into her bedroom. In a few minutes, they crawled into bed. Pippa was asleep shortly thereafter.

* * *

Once again, Hecate woke up to a weight pressing down on her left side. She wondered at how long it would take to get used to that and suspected it wouldn't take long at all. She looked down and found Pippa looking sleepily back at her. 

"You make a very good pillow, you know." Pippa turned her face into Hecate's body as she yawned. "We need to get up soon if we want to make it to breakfast on time today. I can't be rushing in five minutes late every day just because I like lying in bed with you."

"Mmm." Disturbing Pippa's resting place, Hecate rolled onto her side and cupped Pippa's face in her hand. She kissed Pippa deeply, a kiss Pippa was happy to return. "Are you sure we can't be late?" 

Pippa laughed and pushed Hecate away. "Yes, I'm sure." It didn't stop her from kissing Hecate again though. 

They were still kissing when a frantic knocking cut through the fog in Hecate's brain. 

She pulled away and looked up at Pippa in question. “It sounds like you should go answer that.” Pippa nodded toward the door. Hecate nodded and got out of bed, She tied a robe around herself, transferred from her bedroom to her sitting room, and pulled open her door just as someone on the other side called out, “Miss Hardbroom!”

It was Camilla Quinn and she looked completely beside herself. 

“Yes? What is it?” Hecate asked. 

Camilla took a deep breath before words started rushing out of her. “Have you seen Miss Pentangle? We can’t find her anywhere. Cassandra was going to speak with her about some changes to the curriculum, and she got hit by some sort of spell when she opened Pippa’s office door. She’s completely unconscious, and we don’t know what happened, and Pippa is nowhere to be found. You’re the deputy head, so...” Camilla shrugged and seemed to deflate. 

Hecate’s eyebrows rose in alarm. Someone had attacked Cassandra? Had they been aiming for Pippa? She needed to tell Pippa, but she doubted Pippa would want anyone to know she had spent the night in Hecate’s bed. 

“Of course.” Hecate looked at Camilla seriously. “You go tend to Cassandra, and I’ll find Miss Pentangle and let her know what happened.” 

“If that’s what you think is best.” Camilla nodded and transferred away. As soon as she did, Hecate’s bedroom door opened. 

“I assume you heard all of that?” Hecate asked to a now fully dressed Pippa. 

“I did. I need to go to the infirmary.” Pippa walked over and placed a kiss on Hecate’s cheek. “Will you check on my office?” 

“Certainly.” She wouldn’t be of much use in the infirmary anyway. 

“Hecate, do be careful.” Pippa reached out and caught Hecate’s hand, giving it a squeeze before she pulled back and transferred away.

Hecate turned back toward her bedroom. She would get dressed and then go see to Pippa’s office as asked. She hoped she wouldn’t find any other sort of spells designed to hurt someone while she was there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are the best and I'm on tumblr @twtd11


End file.
